Product details
- Label Original Jazz Classics
- Artist Sonny Rollins Quartet
- Format 1LP
- Country United States
- Released Date 2015
- Genre Jazz
- Sealed Yes
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Tenor Madness by Sonny Rollins Quartet.
Few records in the hard bop canon carry the quiet legend that surrounds this Sonny Rollins Quartet session. Recorded in Hackensack, New Jersey on May 24, 1956, it captures a young Rollins at a moment of extraordinary confidence, his tenor voice already unmistakable, muscular yet playful, rooted in the blues but forever reaching past it. This is Rollins near the height of his mid fifties fire, backed by a rhythm section that reads like a roll call of the era's finest.
The title cut, "Tenor Madness," remains the reason many collectors chase this record in the first place. It is the only known studio meeting on record between Rollins and John Coltrane, the two towering tenor voices of their generation trading and testing one another over a swinging blues. Coltrane appears on this track alone, and the encounter has been savored by listeners for decades as a friendly duel of two saxophonists heading in different directions yet speaking the same language.
The rest of the program lets Rollins stretch out and reveal his range. "When Your Lover Has Gone" and "My Reverie" show his tender, ballad conscious side, while "Paul's Pal" nods to the bassist anchoring the session. "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" rounds out the date with the buoyant, songbook loving lyricism that Rollins would carry throughout his career, phrasing standards with the same wit and structural cunning he brought to the blues.
Behind him stands a formidable band. Paul Chambers lays down the deep, singing bass lines that made him one of the most recorded bassists of the period; "Philly" Joe Jones drives the group with his crackling, conversational drumming; and Red Garland brings his elegant, block chorded piano to the harmony. It is the sound of musicians who knew each other intimately, listening and answering in real time.
Every element of the original production carries the fingerprints of the Prestige house style. Rudy Van Gelder recorded the session in his celebrated Hackensack studio, capturing the warmth and immediacy that defined his work. Bob Weinstock supervised, Ira Gitler contributed the liner notes, and the cover was handled by Weinstock and Tom Hannan, framing the music in the label's understated visual language.
This Think Indie exclusive pressing has been newly cut by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman, two of the most respected names in analog mastering, and is strictly limited to 500 copies. For anyone drawn to the golden age of the tenor saxophone, this is essential listening and an easy centerpiece for any serious jazz shelf.
Pressing Details:
Track Listing:
A1. Tenor Madness
A2. When Your Lover Has Gone
B1. Paul's Pal
B2. My Reverie
B3. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
Credits:
Paul Chambers (3) - Bass
Bob Weinstock - Cover
Tom Hannan - Cover
"Philly" Joe Jones - Drums
Kevin Gray - Lacquer Cut By
Steve Hoffman - Lacquer Cut By
Ira Gitler - Liner Notes
Red Garland - Piano
Rudy Van Gelder - Recorded By
Bob Weinstock - Supervised By [Supervision]
John Coltrane - Tenor Saxophone (A1)
Sonny Rollins - Tenor Saxophone
Notes:
Think Indie exclusive. Limited edition of 500 copies.
Recorded in Hackensack, NJ; May 24, 1956.
Artist: Sonny Rollins Quartet
Format: 1LP
Genre: Jazz
Label: Original Jazz Classics
Catalog Number: OJC-124
Release Year: 2015
Country: United States
Condition: Sealed (New)
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