At the end of 1956 Sonny Rollins ended his six-year period of recording at Prestige Records, and he proceeded to record prolifically for the next two years for a variety of labels. Rather than accept the advances against royalties arrangement of his Prestige contract, Rollins opted to be paid by the session, without royalty provisions. He recorded this way for Lester Koenig at Contemporary, Orrin Keepnews at Riverside, and Alfred Lion at Blue Note, as well as recording a variety of performances, both as leader and sideman, for EmArcy, Verve, and Atlantic. This period culminated in the famous vacation from recording that found Rollins practicing nightly on the George Washington Bridge.
Continue reading Sonny Rollins Volume OneTag Archives: tenor saxophone
Sam Rivers: Fuchsia Swing Song
In the autumn of 1964 tenor saxophonist Sam Rivers spent two months on tour with the Miles Davis quintet. This was the group that, with the addition of Wayne Shorter, would become known as Davis’ “Second Great Quintet.” Miles found the young tenor man to be too “out there” for his group, influenced as he was by avant-gardists such as Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, and Archie Shepp.
Continue reading Sam Rivers: Fuchsia Swing SongCharlie Rouse: Bossa Nova Bacchanal
I love bossa jazz, but let’s face it, during the early 1960s there were so many instrumental boss nova albums cut that it’s sometimes hard to get enthusiastic when yet another surfaces from the back catalogues. Listeners really need to sit up and take notice of this reissue by tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, though. Bossa Nova Bacchanal is a real lost treasure.
Continue reading Charlie Rouse: Bossa Nova BacchanalFreedom Suite
The history of Sonny Rollins’ jazz classic
by Marshall Bowden
In 1956 Sonny Rollins was one of the best-known tenor saxophonists in jazz, released two classic jazz albums, Saxophone Colossus and Tenor Madness. In the following two years, freed from his Prestige Records contract, Rollins set about making some great records that were released on a variety of labels, including Riverside, Contemporary, and Period. He released Way Out West and worked with Thelonious Monk.
Yet, even as his career ascended he faced the specter of racism when he attempted to rent an apartment in New York City. “Here I had all these reviews, newspaper articles and pictures,” Rollins later said. “At the time it struck me, what did it all mean if you were still a nigger, so to speak? This is the reason I wrote the suite.”
Continue reading Freedom SuiteSonny Rollins: Plus 4
1956 was a hell of a year for Sonny Rollins. Having already recorded a number of memorable dates for the Prestige label, both as a leader and a sideman, ’56 saw the recording of Rollins sessions that became the albums Saxophone Colossus and Tenor Madness, as well as Sonny Rollins Plus 4, which has been reissued as one of Prestige’s Rudy Van Gelder Remasters series.
Continue reading Sonny Rollins: Plus 4Ike Quebec: Heavy Soul
Ike Quebec was a really great and sadly under-recorded tenor man of the Coleman Hawkins school, with nods to Ben Webster and Stan Getz as well. In the 1940s Quebec cut some 10 and 12-inch 78 rpm records for Blue Note, records that were quite popular in their day. By the mid-fifties, Quebec had virtually disappeared from the scene, at least partially because his 78 rpm sides were not available on the new LP format, and so very few young jazz fans had ever heard of him.
Continue reading Ike Quebec: Heavy SoulIke Quebec
The Forgotten Tenor
by Marshall Bowden
The story of Ike Quebec is in many ways the story of the prototypical working jazz musician who never quite catches a lucky break, but who nonetheless perseveres and is able to earn a livelihood from his art for his entire life.
Continue reading Ike QuebecGato Barbieri
Fire and Ice
Gato Barbieri is frequently remembered for his Academy Award winning soundtrack the 1972 Bernardo Bertolucci film Last Tango In Paris, but his musical career is much wider than that.
Continue reading Gato Barbieri