12/19/2023 0 Comments Bkue note studioAnd also, those things couldn’t help but influence you.” You couldn’t play something that didn’t have anything to do with his style, his approach and the things that he laid down, which meant that you couldn’t get away from them while you were playing. “It was always different playing with Monk because you had to play like him. “Thelonious was different in that he was so unique, so singular,” says Rollins of the man that mentored him and helped to nurture his talent. That particular album showcased Rollins in a trio setting, but, for his second Blue Note outing, he fronted a larger ensemble: a sextet comprising, among others, the redoubtable Thelonious Monkon piano, who plays on Rollins’ versions of his tunes “Misterioso” and “Reflections.” It was recorded on Sunday, April 14, 1957, just a month after a session for Contemporary Records in California, which yielded the classic album Way Out West. Just to cause confusion for record buyers, Rollins’ next album for Blue Note was also titled Sonny Rollins, but later became known as Sonny Rollins Vol.2, to distinguish it from his first Blue Note album. So he was like the guy who was there and wasn’t there at the same time.” Whenever there was the correct sequence to be played, he was there. “Whenever there was something to be played, he played it. “He was the perfect accompanist because he was unobtrusive,” he explains. “The fact that Wynton was not there is what I liked about his playing,” says Rollins, following this declaration with a mischievous laugh. The Sonny Rollins album is also distinguished by the glistening piano of Wynton Kelly, who would go on to find fame in the Miles Davissextet, which recorded Kind Of Blue in 1959. All these young guys wanted to play drums like him, be like him, and even look like him, so Max was a big-time guy.” “He was an idol to me because he played with Charlie Parker and was a beloved figure in the community. “It was great playing with Max,” enthuses Rollins, recalling the legendary drums and percussion maestro. He’d recorded with the saxophonist many times before and appeared on several of his landmark Prestige albums, such as 1956’s totemic Saxophone Colossus. Six years Rollins’ senior, Max Roach – famed for his fluid, polyrhythmic drumming style – played a pivotal role on the album. I always loved their songs, especially the ballads, so it was quite normal for me to have a liking for a song like ‘How Are Things In Glocca Mora.’” The Quintet “As a child I went to a lot of movies and I listened to the radio a lot so that I was brought up on a lot of different American composers. “What drew me to those lesser-known tunes was my background,” the saxophonist explains. I was just getting started in the business and that was one of my first recordings.” Rollins can be heard on tracks like “Bouncing With Bud” and “Dance Of The Infidels.” “That was my first encounter with Blue Note. “I originally recorded for them when I worked with Bud Powell on The Amazing Bud Powell in 1949,” reveals Rollins. Reflecting on his short but productive alliance with Blue Note, Rollins tells uDiscover Music that his association with the iconic jazz label began when he was a teenage sideman. The resulting album was released the following year as Sonny Rollins. The tenor saxophonist’s first post-Prestige session was for Blue Note and took place at Rudy Van Gelder’s Hackensack recording studio in New Jersey on Sunday, December 16, 1956. It was during this particularly fertile two-year period that he recorded four albums for Blue Note Records, one of the jazz world's leading independent record labels. But his contractual obligations to Prestige expired in late 1956 and, rather than re-sign to the company for another long-term, potentially constricting recording deal, Rollins tried his hand as a freelance musician, committing himself only to album-by-album agreements. An outstanding tenor saxophonist noted for his commanding tone and endless ingenuity as an improviser, he was just 26 years old and had already been dubbed “Saxophone Colossus” by producer Bob Weinstock at Prestige Records, the saxophonist’s recording home since 1951. The year 1957 was a significant one in the life and career of Walter Theodore “Sonny” Rollins.
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