5.0 out of 5 stars
Sonny Rollins Plus Bass and Drums, August 11, 2011
This review is from: Night at the Village Vanguard 2 (Audio CD)
Although some reviewers are critical of this album, recoded live in Manhattan on November 3, 1957, because Rollins went with a "pianoless" group, I like it for that very reason. Just as Rollins attempts to strip the melody of a standard down to its bare essentials, at this live performance at the Village Vanguard he appears to strip down his ensemble to its essential grouping of saxophone soloist backed only by a supportive bassist (Wilbur Ware)and drummer (Elvin Jones).
While musicologists can argue the finer points of the merits of such a trio, the writer Peter Niklas Wilson offers a more mundane explanation for its creation in his book Sonny Rollins: The Definitive Musical Guide: "Although he had begun his guest spot at the Village Vanguard with a quintet, after a week he fired the trumpet player, a fate soon shared by the pianist. Not even the reduced trio survived intact; when the recording had already begun, Rollins decided he needed a new bassist and drummer. As a result,two tracks -- probably recorded on the afternoon of November 3 -- feature Donald Bailey and Pete laRoca, while the rest are performed with Wilbur Ware and Elvin Jones."
To quote Wilson again, this album "shows a Rollins who is in equal measure virtuosic, spontaneous, structurally conscientious, expressive, and humorous -- in short. the classic Rollins before the bridge intermezzo. On top of that, it is a Rollins supported by Wilbur Ware and Elvin Jones -- one of the finest rhythm sections of the time."
Highly recommended for every fan of Sonny Rollins and for any jazz fan who loves 1950s jazz.
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