Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two Generations Come Together As One, September 2, 2000
Sonny Rollins made several albums for the RCA Victor label, but "Sonny Meets Hawk" is his best and is easily in his top 10 recordings of all-time. This material, which boasts one of the best remastering jobs on CD in recent memory, was recorded over three sessions in 1963. By this time Sonny was beginning to explore some new, outward directions in his playing. Because of this some fans might be worried that a partnership with Coleman Hawkins, defintely a previous generation's saxophone colossus, would squelch Rollins. Well you needn't be! Coleman Hawkins came to this session with an open mind, and his playing has never been more free. Think of Sonny, as the rebelious youth who is mature enough to respect the father figure, but it is Hawk who is a cool enough dad to get hip to what the son is saying. Just listen to their simultaneous solos on "Summertime," and the mutual understanding and cohesion are perfectly clear. I could go on about Sonny and Hawk, but this album has too many other wonderful facets I don't want to overlook. The band on the first six tracks (the original "Sonny Meets Hawk" recorded during two sessions in July '63) is stellar with Paul Bley joining on piano, longtime Rollins comrade Bob Cranshaw alternating with Henry Grimes on bass, and an outstanding drummer who I have never heard of before, Roy McCurdy. All four of these men makes invaluable contributions to this album, but I want to take a moment to discuss the merits of the seldom recognized Henry Grimes. Grimes is one of the 60s and the New Jazz's greatest bass players. His style is similar to that of Scott LaFaro's, as both simultaneously maintain the rhythm and meter, yet play seemingly outside of it. Additionally, the sound of the bass on this recording is some of the best I have ever heard on CD -- rich and full in tone, every note stands out. As if "Sonny Meets Hawk" didn't have enough going for it, this remastered CD also includes three tracks from a February '63 session with Don Cherry. These three tunes are phenomenal, and you've never heard three standards probed so thoroughly and then turned inside out. For this session, Grimes again lends his considerable talent on bass, and Cherry is reunited with Ornette bandmate Billy Higgins on drums. This session is no mere bonus, as the style easily melds with the original "Sonny Meets Hawk" album. In all, "Sonny Meets Hawk" is a classic meeting of jazz giants bridging the generation gap. Even more importantly, it is a shining example of the creative musical mind challenging itself to reach new levels of achievement.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unearthly blowing by two giants of the tenor sax..., April 24, 2004
Meet Sonny Rollins: giant both in stature and musicianship and moreover, one of the best improvising musicians of all time. He doesn't run the changes. He doesn't have "filler". He weaves stories of melodies. And on this occasion he is joined by the Bean, Coleman Hawkings, a major influence in Sonny's music.Whereas the songs selected for this date are standards, their treatment is anything but standard. You'll hear plenty of outside playing, especially from Sonny but equally from pianist Paul Bley ( eg: All the Things You Are, At McKie's ). This CD includes 3 extra songs not on the original 1963 release of Sonny Meets Hawk. Hawk doesn't appear on these 3 cuts, but Don Cherry ( trumpet ) does. Highlights: Sonny's haunting solo on Yesterdays. On Just Friends Sonny demonstrates, as he does so well, how to expand on the motif of a song throughout his chorus. Sonny invents his own motifs to build on when he solos on Lover Man. He does the same on At McKie's*. In fact, its his trademark, so you better get used to it. * = extra-credit if you can snap your fingers to beat '1' of every measure during this tune. I'll unfairly weigh this disk against other Rollins' recordings: Newk's Time, Saxophone Colossus and The Bridge and thus can only give this 4 stars. Measured against most other artists' works Sonny Meets Hawk is 5 stars hands down. Wanna hear true 5 stars: check out those other Rollins recordings I mentioned! You'll find your self nodding in agreement and saying "yeah" more than once listening to this gem. You'll even get a few laughs. Its just what you'd expect from Sonny.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 1/2 really., August 30, 2005
As a rule, I tend to find records designed around the idea of jazz giants meeting to typically be a bit... overblown. Great players get together for no reason other than to play together and the result is often less than exciting-- usually it sounds contrieved and no one really pushes the envelope. As such, it seems that everytime I pop in "Sonny Meets Hawk", I do so with reservation-- two great tenor saxess of their respective generations-- Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins, playing a bunch of standards together. It sounds quite frankly like a recipe for another yawner.
And it seems that every time I play the record, I'm shocked and amazed by how good it is-- Rollins, a year into his return from his sabbatical-- is fierce and puts forth some of his best playing. Pushed no doubt by his rhythm section's free jazz leanings (pianist Paul Bley, bass by either Bob Cranshaw or Henry Grimes, and drums by Roy McCurdy) and his recent experience playing with Don Cherry and Billy Higgins (where Rollins sounded a bit out of place), the leader is all over, teetering on the edge of outside and expressing himself with an energy and passion that even the past few records, as good as they are, lack. Hawkins, not to be outdone, pulls the stops as well, and while playing conventionally, rises to the challenge.
This is probably best illustrated by the extended "Loverman"-- Hawkins states the theme and solos lyrically, then starts trading solo space with Rollins. Rollins is fierce, Hawkins cuts him off and is fiercer. This builds and builds until Rollins wails in the extreme upper register of the horn and, as if to admit defeat, Hawkins retreats back to the theme. Other highlights include a smokey take on "Summertime" (featuring a stunning solo from Henry Grimes) and great inside-out playing by Rollins on "All the Things You Are". Stil, there's a downer in throwaway jam "At McKie's"-- an uptempo number, it gets a pretty lifeless performance that feels like a letdown at the end of the record.
One kind of blah track aside, its quite an album, recommended for fans of Rollins. Hawkins fans might find it a curiosity, but not essential.
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