Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus (180g) (Limited Deluxe Edition) auf LP

+ Tommy Flanagan, Doug Watkins, Max Roach
*** Gatefold Cover

Mit Saxophone Colossus erlangte Sonny Rollins endgültig die breite Anerkennung als zentrale Figur der Jazzwelt, die ihm gebührte. Bis zu dieser Veröffentlichung hatte die Musikkritik Rollins nicht ernst genommen, während seine Kollegen bereits wussten, dass er zu den einflussreichen neuen Kräften der Jazz-Szene gehört. Saxophone Colossus aus dem Jahr 1956 inspirierte Kritiker zu wissenschaftlichen Abhandlungen; Fans feierten Rollins' Kreativität, seinen Humor und seine herausragenden Balladen. Begleitet wird der Tenor-Saxophonist von Tommy Flanagan am Klavier, Doug Watkins am Bass und Max Roach am Schlagzeug.

Saxophone Colossus is one of Sonny Rollins’ more acclaimed albums as a leader. Recorded on June 22, 1956, by which time the saxophonist had already been a regular member of the celebrated Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet for half a year. This fact also explains the presence of Roach. Four days later, that group would no longer exist, for on June 26 both Clifford Brown and the band’s pianist Ritchie Powell were killed in a tragic car accident. Age 26, Rollins was already a well-known jazz fi gure. He had recorded some albums as a leader but, above all, he had been part of one of the most outstanding combos of the period: the Miles Davis Quintet. Saxophone Colossus enjoyed great critical success from the start and helped establish Rollins as a prominent jazz artist. The album presents Rollins leading an all-star quartet that includes pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Doug Watkins, and, as previously noted, drummer Max Roach.