AOTW 18 September

[JohnS]

I've had this one since the first lp release in the UK. It's still astounding. Glorious two tenor extravaganza with Dizzy to boot.

[Guy Berger]

I think that despite some major fireworks on "The Eternal Triangle" and an excellent "On the Sunny Side of the Street", this CD doesn't quite "live up to expectations" for me. Or stated another way -- if I had to pick favorite CDs with Rollins from this period, this wouldn't be near the top of the list. It's a nice album, but not a classic to my ears. Curious to see if anyone else agrees.

Guy

[vibes]

I love this album, and I think it's a great AOTW choice. I'm biased, though--I'm pretty sure it was the first I heard of any of these musicians, as it was one of the first jazz albums I ever purchased. A couple of my favorite things about the album:

- Dizzy's singing on "Sunny Side of the Street" always puts a smile on my face. Something about the way his says "Rockefeller" (Rockyfella) totally cracks me up.

- "The Eternal Triangle" really cooks, and this version is far superior to the version that appears on Sonny Stitt's "Only the Blues" album (I believe it was called "The String" on that album).

"Duets" is well worth owning, too. I think I probably listen to that one more. I love the alternate take of "Con Alma," as I think the solos are superior to those on the master take.

[JSngry]

One of the very few (relative to his overall, immense, output) opportuniites to hear Stitt at the very top of his game.

[Free For All]

Definitely a classic in my book. The Stitt/Rollins sequence on ET is the high point IMHO. Both Sonnys are on their game for sure, and this might be a very rare case where I'm inclined to give Stitt a slight edge (and I'm a big Rollins fan!)......at any case it's a clinic on rhythm changes (plus ET's got that great chromatic bridge!).

if I had to pick favorite CDs with Rollins from this period, this wouldn't be near the top of the list.

If I was choosing based only on favorite Rollins performances from this period I also might look elsewhere, although this wouldn't be that far down the list. It's also not the best Dizzy of that era IMHO. I do think it's some of the best Stitt. What grabs me about this side is the general vibe and energy of the session. The "whole" is greater than the "sum of the pieces", just like the Plugged Nickel is not Miles' greatest performance, but as a group they're at the top of their game.

Very high on my list. Great choice!

[Kalo]

Great album, Great choice for AOTW!

I agree with Free For All, its sum is greater than the parts.

[Nate Dorward]

Never really gotten a big charge out of Gillespie's own contribution to this session (especially on the companion volume, which is a bunch of blues + "Con Alma") but, yeah, Stitt & Rollins are in excellent form here, esp. Stitt.

[mikeweil]

Whay does amazon.com have a different cover?

Is the 1997 Universal CD edition okay, soundwise? (I have always shied away from these jam session type affairs, especially with a superfast track like Triangle, but if Stitt is so good on it .....)

[couw]

Whay does amazon.com have a different cover? 

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it's the cover of the booklet of the VME digipac

[John Tapscott]

I have the Verve double LP "Dizzy Gillespie - The Sonny Rollins/Sonny Stitt Sessions" from 1976. I believe it has everything that's on the CD. Literate liner notes by our own Christiern ( though I wish he had spent a bit more time discussing the music, rather than Dizzy's life and career - minor point perhaps, but a few more comments about the music would have been helpful).

Anyway, listened to Record 2 last night which has the tracks with Stitt and Rollins together. A very nice set, with Stitt at the top of his game, and the others not far behind at all. ET is a great track, but the track I really dug last night was "After Hours" - terrific rhythm section work on this. Perhaps even more than the uptempo things, these kind of long, medium slow blues tracks separate the pretenders from the masters. No pretenders here.

[White Lightning]

This is one of the several CDs I took with me to our Alaska trip about 2 years ago. I probably listened to this side more than two dozen times in that month.

There are two kind of sides in that sort of intense listening: Some are the kind that really getting on your nerves, making you want to never hear these sides again, or the one that really become a favorite.

This CD is definitely belong to the latter kind for me. I can listen to "The Eternal Triangle" repeatedly even today.

BTW, Brignola's version of The Eternal Triangle is almost as good as this one afaic.

[DukeCity]

- "The Eternal Triangle" really cooks, and this version is far superior to the version that appears on Sonny Stitt's "Only the Blues" album (I believe it was called "The String" on that album).

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I agree, vibes. "The String" seems not to be the most inspired Stitt rhythm changes. And "The String" uses the standard Rhythm Changes bridge (with no written melody) vs. the very cool chromatic "Eternal Triangle" bridge that Free For All mentioned.

Sure, we're picking nits here. A little Stitt to start your day is always a good thing.

[Cali]

AFTER HOURS has always been the cornerstone of this album for me. This is the blues. And Rollins rough and tumble solo puts his footprint on this one. When I hear this tune, visions of a smokey, whiskey smelling juke joint late on a Saturday night, become almost palpable. "Hey, bartender, hit me one mo' time".

[Chuck Nessa]

My introduction to this material was an early '60s compilation called "Dizzy, Rollins & Stitt". It had a fantastic color photo on the cover of the 3 named artists. The tunes were Eternal Trinagle, After Hours, Wheatleigh Hall & Con Alma. As soon as possible, I bought the 2 individual lps.

All 3 are at the top of their games on these 2 dates. Some of the material could be more interesting but DAMN!

FWIW, I much prefer the original mono sound - the stereo tapes seem to lose the "balls" of the monos.

[catesta]

It's a winner for me.

[trane_fanatic]

Great session, the sound & mastering on the CD, at least on mine, is very soft and compressed though. I have the VME digipak too.

Edited September 23, 2005 by trane_fanatic

[B. Goren.]

It's a winner for me. 

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Also for me.

[Alexander Hawkins]

Rollins' entry on 'Sunny Side...' is fantastic as well. I love this album.

I remember hearing 'After Hours' on the radio here in the UK a few years ago, introduced by (as far as I remember) Peter King. Whilst I respect Peter King a lot, his comment that only Rollins was getting 'inside' the blues rather than just running licks etc. was one I didn't really get...

[Peter Friedman]

Ray Bryant's fine piano playing on this recording has not been mentioned. He fits perfectly with the three horns.

Rollin's tenor work on the tune "Wheatleigh Hall" from the DUETS release features him playing marvelously.