Customer Reviews

Rollins Plays for Bird

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4 star:		(1)
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"Rollins Plays for Bird" is vintage Sonny Rollins -- an album with the perfect combination of medium tempo hard boppers and scintilating ballads. But unlike other recordings, you get them here all in one song. "The Bird Medley" features seven diiferent Charlie Parker songs, all strung together intelligently by the band of Sonny, Kenny Dorham, Wade Legge, George Morrow and Max Roach. While the medley is album's focal point there are two other tracks, the eloquent ballad "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" and "Kids Know," featuring terrific horn interplay by Sonny and Dorham. In my review of the previous incarnation of this CD, I complained that the "The House I Live In" should have been included here to complete this 10/5/56 session (see my review of Sonny Boy for more info). Well the folks at OJC must have read my complaint, because it has been added to this RVG edition -- nice work! Now this disc is finally perfect; still not quite up there with "Saxophone Colossus" and "Tenor Madness" (also from '56 -- a watershed year for Sonny), but it's close.

Back in the 80's, I bought a double LP called "Saxophone Colossus and More." It contained all the original "Saxophone Colossus" tracks plus many others that were not alternate takes but completely different tunes recorded at about the same time with most of the same musicians. It was one of my all-time favorite jazz albums, and I've been frustrated that it's never been issued on CD. Fortunately, most of those extra tracks from "More" are available on other reissue CD's, and this is one of them (the other being "Sonny Rollins Plus 4). The only thing I find odd about this CD is that "Star Eyes" (one of the single tracks from "More"), is embedded in the "Medley" track at the front end of this CD. I'm guessing that the medley was the original release format, and the engineers split it out as a single track for "More." But either way, it's on here, along with several other tracks from that classic double LP. So if you want to recreate that album in the digital age without the original vinyl, this is as close as you can get. And like all the RVG reissues, it sounds great and has the original liner notes plus new ones added by Rudy himself for this issue. It's definitely worth picking up!

These three records (CDs) were part of a very large be-bop collection that was lost 15 years ago, as is many of the "recommended" albums that I'm asked to review. While I don't mind reviewing the music, I am concerned that my reviews could serve to drive up the prices for future customers, myself included. About the music....Max Roach brought in Sonny Rollins to replace Harold Land in the Max Roach/Clifford Brown group in an effort to continue some of the greatest be-bop ever heard. He brought in Kenny Dorham after Brownie's tragic death. Aside from Sonny's "Kansas City" statement at the outset, the Bird Medley is more Mercer/Arlen than Bird; although Bird would have loved it. Max Roach is impeccable here, as is the laid-back piano of (the late) Wade Legge, with great solos by all. "Kids Know" (Rollins) is a waltz,sequel to "Valse Hot" (Rollins plus Four). Kenny eases in behind Sonny and starts "smokin'" out in front of Max's clean, mean drive. "Accustomed" (ballard) is as pretty as My Fair Lady. "House" is from a Rollins album named Sonny Boy.

one of sonnys best he is having fun and his interaction with the other muscians is remarkable. if you like sonny get this one. if you like charly parker get this one and see what may have been.