Complete Rca Victor Recordings [Box set]

Sonny Rollins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 15, 1997)
• Original Release Date: July 15, 1997
• Number of Discs: 6
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003G74
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #322,002 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

SONNY ROLLINS The Complete Sonny Rollins RCA Victor Recordings (1997 US deluxe 53-track digitally remastered SIX CD set which includes the classic recordings made between 1962 & 1964 including The Bridge Whats New Our Man In Jazz Sonny Meets Hawk Nows The Time & The Standard with many previously unreleased alternate takes. Also including a 36-page integral booklet with extensive liner notes full discography of the time period and many rare photographs. This superb setis housed inside a hard back hessian metallic printed picture book pack inside an outer hessian bound picture stickered slipcase box)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coming Into His Own, May 22, 1999

By 

Brint Conley (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Rca Victor Recordings (Audio CD)

Powerful. Graceful. Inspiring. Little more needs to said about this fabulous collection. While this set does not include any new or rare material that is not available in other sources, this set is a must for anyone trying to build a jazz library. The selections here are all from top notch albums ("The Bridge" being my fav.) that, while not on the level of "Tenor Madness" or "Saxophone Colossus" are still required listening. Rollins is even throughout, displaying his signature style and tone in equal part. The set is neatly packaged complete with beautiful photos and liner notes. I would strongly suggest any jazz fan who does not already own the albums contained in this set to purchase "Complete RCA."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One Too Many?, May 8, 2006

By 

Richard B. Luhrs (Jackson Heights, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Complete Rca Victor Recordings (Audio CD)

Sonny Rollins' 1962-64 sessions for RCA include, in my own opinion, quite possibly the best music of his career, ranging as they do from brief, snappy covers of the most overplayed standards to the loosest and lengthiest of jams and featuring a shifting series of styles, sidemen and arrangements which makes each of the albums from this prolific portion of the famed tenor saxophonist's catalogue a little musical world unto itself. At various times on this sonically and visually beautiful boxed set, one hears the great Rollins in the company of such masters as Jim Hall, Coleman Hawkins, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Billy Higgins, Don Cherry and Paul Bley (just to name a few), alternately tackling atmospheric post-bop (THE BRIDGE), scorched-earth Latinisms (WHAT'S NEW?), postmodern onstage chaos (OUR MAN IN JAZZ), intergenerational gymnastics (SONNY MEETS HAWK) and fresh, subtle approaches to familiar repertoire (THE STANDARD SONNY ROLLINS). A cluster of outtakes and alternate versions filters in nicely; every disc here is a winner, even if everyone (myself included) will necessarily pick his or her favorites from among them.

So why the four - or rather four and a half - stars? Because of RCA's silly decision to make six discs out of what should have been five. Only one of these CDs runs (just) over an hour; and since some of the original albums are divided and several of the 1964 alternate takes are tacked onto the end of disc two (the rest of which dates from 1962), no argument about preserving the integrity of the sessions via more and shorter discs can be made. It's price-gouging, coupled perhaps with a bizarre aesthetic sensibility (which is also revealed in the mid-seventies photos of Rollins adorning several of these mid-sixties discs), plain and simple. That doesn't stop this from being one of the very finest jazz boxes I have the pleasure to own, however, and I hope it's reissued soon (on five OR six CDs) so that others will have the opportunity to add it to their collections without having to pay top dollar.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, overlooked music, January 13, 2001

By 

Steven C. Berry "scberry" (Edmonds WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Complete Rca Victor Recordings (Audio CD)

In my opinion, the best part of this collection includes the pairing of Sonny Rollins and Jim Hall. A true shame they did not work together after this. They drove each other, inspired each other, and also experimented with bossa nova when it was first becoming part of the US jazz scene. This box set includes material that, while previously released on cassette or on French discs, is nice to have all in one CD collection. Sonny and Jim have had distinguished, amazing careers, but rarely have either been more tuneful or fun than they were here.