Customer Reviews

Sonny Please

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I caught Sonny in a live performance this past November, so I got to hear at least 3 tracks off of his most current album...Sonny Please. He opened the set with a fiery "Sonny Please" which smoked for a good 15 minutes (I believe that Victor Lewis was on traps that night so the percussion section helped do the driving). For a man approaching 77 years of age, I was impressed with not only Sonny's playing and gracious presence, but his stamina in performing two 40 - 50 minute sets. Trust me, the man can still play! This album may not be another "Saxophone Colossus" or "The Bridge", but it is a solid recording and should satisfy a majority of Sonny's fans. If you have no recorded music by this jazz legend, this CD is a respectable starting point.

Five Stars are not enough! This Grammy-nominated CD deserves SIX, showing Sonny Rolllins is STILL "the Saxophone Colossus". Completing the DownBeat Readers Poll 'tri-fecta' win in 2006, Sonny was voted "Jazz Artist of the Year", "#1 Tenor Sax", and the "9/11" concert CD was the 2006 Jazz CD of the Year, but this CD is even better. By winning the 2006 Grammy for "Jazz Instrumental Solo" for "Why Was I Born" on the "9/11" CD, Sonny has not sat on his laurels but is still turning out exceptional CDs and live performances like this one. And "Sonny, Please" ranks as one of Sonny's best, delivered at age 77, no less. Sonny has been a part of my personal musical landscape for most of my life and it's been a wonderful experience to behold, in person and on recordings.

Bassist Bob Cranshaw's association with Mr Rollins goes back to the era of "Our Man In Jazz" on RCA Victor. Bobby Broom's highly inventive guitar is added instead of the usual piano, allowing the group to levitate over floating vamps like on "Sonny, Please". Rollins longtime stablemate and producer of this CD, Clifton Anderson's trombone is spare and exciting in solo and support, blowing hot liquid notes. Rounding out the group are the tasteful drummer Steve Jordan and the colorful percussionist Kimati Dinizulu.

The Pieces De Resistance, the best of the best, begin with the title song, "Sonny, Please", based on a favorite phrase of Sonny's late wife, Lucille, and it is a burning experience. Riding on a three-note pedal point, Mr Rollins uncorks one of his best thematic solos on record. The jumping calpyso "Park Palace Parade" continues the Rollins tradition of including one song that harkens back to his 'Island roots', but it substitutes wonderful thematic 'sound scapes' instead of the usual hyper-active calypso energy of old. The elegant "Serenade" (from the "Les Millions d'arlequin" ballet by classical composer Riccardo Drigo) continues the Rollins fascination with both unusual song choices and with 3/4 time that began four decades ago with "Shadow Waltz" and "Valse Hot" in the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet years. The sonorities he creates on this waltz are mesmerizing. "Remembering Tommy (Flanagan)" is a top-notch blues tribute to one of the most respected jazz pianist/composers of all time who was the pianist on the original "Saxophone Colossus" recording. Somewhere in the middle of "Nishi", is that a hip-hop beat going on? Wow, Sonny stays current! "Someday I'll Find You" is a cleverly-disguised thematic waltz giving way to 4/4 solos: note Bob Cranshaw's beautiful tone and support! "Stairway to the Stars" is pure beauty with Rollin's thick granite-like tone. All in all, this award-nominated CD is a wonderful addition to the Sonny Rollins discography that ranks with his best efforts EVER. May Sonny Rollins continue to garner awards and play with the same heat and inventiveness for years to come. Bravo, Sonny!! My Highest Recommendation. Five HUGE Stars!!

(Notes:
*This review is based on an ITunes digital download.
*Can you find the multiple humorous quotes of "Oh Susanna", among others? These quotes are a Rollins trademark and an 'in-joke' with the fans. On the 2004 Grammy-winning "This Is What I Do" CD, there were quotes from "Shimmy Like My Sister Kate", and "I'm Just Wild About Harry" from the song "Did You See Harold Vick?" The trick is to make them fit the circumstances and they do, beautifully so.)

Sonny Rollins has really made strides in jazz. From his work with Thelonious Monk until now, Sonny has been a key figure in the innovation of jazz (with an angle on island music). His style has always been a bridge between tropic music and classic jazz.

Now, in his 70's--the jazz patron has done something great here. He has finally molded a style that is tropic, classic, and electric. The sound of the music here is new, as it combines elements of all three styles.

Sonny has a passion in his blowing that reminds jazz patrons of his Saxophone Colossus years. He has a passionate take on Sonny Please that will blow you socks off (I wonder why they didn't let the whole take go? It fades at around 8 minutes of his solo----so what? He can go for 20...it's SONNY).

Of the work with guitarists (after the Jim Hall sessions) and with electric bass, this is my personal favorite. I'm happy to say those who like classic jazz, island jazz, African world music, Latin jazz, or 70-80 traditional jazz will all love this album.

4 stars---5 if next time, you let Sonny blow until he chokes--as every note he plays adds to the meaning of the message.

I have 7 Sonny Rollins albums from the 50s and 60s plus a few others where he participated as a sideman with the Clifford Brown/Max Roach quintet and Thelonious Monk. Also the classic Sonny Side Up album that starred Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt. They are all outstanding albums. I only recently started checking out some more recent jazz CDs and was happy to see that Sonny was still alive and kicking. I got this CD and think it is a terrific album. Sonny's playing is still amazing. He can still knock off exciting upbeat solos as well as beautiful ballads. I also enjoy the combination of Rollin's sax with Clifton Anderson's trombone throughout the CD.

The album is full of variety and every single tune is enjoyable -- never boring. I wish I could say the same about another saxophone star from the 60s, Wayne Shorter, but I have found recent albums from him(Footprints Live, Alegria, and Beyond the Sound Barrier) less enjoyable. Shorter's quartet consists of outstanding musicians who are all capable of inventive improvisation, but many of their tunes lack structure and energy and blur into each other. They are good albums, but require careful listening and are not as much fun as Sonny's recent albums. If you're looking for another contemporary saxophone CD, I would check out Back East by Joshua Redman (which actually pays tribute to Sonny's classic Way Out West album).

I actually saw Sonny play some of this album at the 50th Anniversary Concert at Carnegie Hall on 9/19/2007. It was exciting for me since I had never seen him in concert before. Needless to say, he was amazing.

One final note: Sonny recorded "Someday I'll Find You" with a trio on his Freedom Suite album in 1958. If you like the performance here, check out the older album for comparison. Obviously, the two performances are quite different given the completely different instrumentation. The more recent version is twice as long.

Now in his late 70s, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins is still - on the evidence of this seven-track CD, recorded just over a year ago - as commanding a player as ever.
Original compositions, including a lovely tribute to the late pianist Tommy Flanagan and the catchy "Park Palace Parade", sit alongside some unusual and inspired choices - Noel Coward's ballad "Someday I'll Find You" (which Rollins previously recorded in the 1950s) is given the strident sax treatment, as is the little-known "Serenade".
Overall a good listen, though hardly vintage Rollins.

Sonny Please~ Sonny Rollins is a good jazz album with the "immortal" saxophone player Sonny Rollins. I am not a total jazz fan and I can therefore not say that I absolutely loved this album. Still and all one can not deny genius when one hears and Mr Rollins is definitely that. Being a more casual listener I view it as great background music and I view jazz this way. As something that you turn on after a hard day at work, open a cold beer and relax.

i haven't finished listening to this cd, it's playing as i type now. much that i've heard lacking in a lot of recordings from the late 70s when mr rollins seemed to be exploring a more popular sound for younger audiences has been recaptured and reshaped, that tone and timbre, his big, full sound, the wonderful improvisation, the sly americana references, the calypso blends, it's all here.

and my best regards to the group, bob cranshaw on bass, steve jordan on drums, bobby broom-guitar, kimati dinizulu-percussionist, and to clifton anderson on trombone, who really knows what it's all about.

Listen to this album if you don't object that the majority of jazz these days is still strongly based in bop, if you don't object to the occasional latin influences, or if you are simply a fan of Rollins. However, if you are more into some more exciting, tenser, or simply darker music (be it jazz or not), and if you have a hard time listening to things that lean towards sentimentality, this is not an album for you.

There is quite a difference between the first and second half of the album though. Rollins seems to want to make sure to attract the attention of hardbop adapts on the first track, and go for some latin on track two. Apart from that, the album consists of ballads mostly, which are actually not bad and have decent solos. The only exciting track, if you ask me, is the title song. Considering the electronic bass and guitar, the basis of the music invites for a relaxing listening experience.

an outstanding CD that you'll love playing over and over. amazing how Sonny keeps reinventing himself.

THE SAXAPHONE OF SONNY ROLLINS IS THE BEST THAT IS ON THE USA SIDE OF THE PLANET.