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Sonny Rollins, who at the time of writing is still alive at the age of 94, is one of the giants of modern jazz, and along with John Coltrane, perhaps the most influential personality as far as the tenor saxophone in jazz is concerned. So long and varied has his stellar career been that it is impossible to identify the most significant highlights – all one can do is pick out key moments, periods and collaborations which are notable and interesting, and this collection aims to do exactly that. This 3-CD collection is devoted to early albums which he made for the Prestige label at the dawn of the vinyl long-player era, when jazz musicians and record companies began to devise concept albums with the opportunities offered by the new format. This set comprises the tracks from eight original 10” and 12” albums on the Prestige label - “The Sonny Rollins Quartet”, “Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet”, “Sonny Rollins Quintet feat. Kenny Dorham”, “Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk”, “Work Time”, “Sonny Rollins & Clifford Brown Plus Four”, “Tenor Madness” and “Saxophone Colossus”. They feature Sonny mainly in quartet and quintet formats with a significant cohort of major names - Kenny Drew, Percy Heath, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Roy Haynes, Milt Jackson, John Lewis, Kenny Clarke, Kenny Dorham, Elmo Hope, Thelonious Monk, Ray Bryant, Clifford Brown, Richie Powell, George Morrow, Max Roach, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, Tommy Flanagan and others. It’s a fascinating and entertaining snapshot of an important time in his career.
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