Well, this is actually more of a pick of the month, but there you have it. I’m a huge Rollins devotee, so this album was the first thing in the Athenaeum’s collection that captured my attention. It’s a live trio recording from 1959′s Aix-in-Provence Jazz Festival in France, and features Sonny Rollins on tenor sax, Henry Grimes on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums.
The music is usually dense, but sometimes austere, and not as accessible as some of Rollins’s studio work, like the seminal “Saxophone Colossus.” This is because Sonny’s Aix group lacked any sort of chordal instrument – the only harmonic contrast comes from the interaction between the bass and the saxophone.
The album only has 3 songs on it (Woodin’ You, But Not For Me, and Lady Bird; all jazz standards), but each is upwards of 15 minutes long. Sonny can (and does!) riff endlessly on the songs’ chord changes, and it as the songs progress, the ways in which Rollins and his rhythm section change the tune in order to mix things up get increasingly more involved – and cool.
It’s a live recording, and the sound quality reflects that. Still, you can’t really match the spontaneity and intensity of a live performance in the studio. These guys are really killing it, and the audience definitely recognizes that. The crowd goes from boisterous applause to reverent silence right as the group begins, and it’s hard not to feel the surge of awe and rapture that sweeps the spectators.
I wholeheartedly recommend giving this album a listen. Maybe 18 minutes of straight improv will prove too much for some, but it at least gives an idea of how much resilience, improvisational prowess, and work that Sonny required to achieve a feat like this.
Members can check out this CD (and many others), as well as materials like books, periodicals, videos, DVDs, sheet music, and LPs from the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library’s collection.
It’s great to know about this disc, I’ll definitely give it a listen after reading your comments. I’m not a big fan of live recordings, but like you I’m a huge fan of Rollins, and I don’t think I’ve ever listened to this one before.
What a good idea to review buried treasures from the Athenaeum’s collection! Keep them coming, whether weekly or monthly or when the mood strikes.
Thanks for the excellent review. I’m a long-time fan of Rollins, but not familiar with this album. I look forward to listening to it. The austerity of a trio combined with long solos and the immediacy and excitement of a live performance is just my kind of jazz.
Great idea to review performances we may have missed.