JSngry Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Ok, for years now I've read reviews of Sonny's club dates from the mid-60s, and they all go on and on about how the guy was into a stream-of-consciousness medley thing, starting and stopping at will, changing tunes in mid-stream, playing long solo interludes, walking all over the room to get different sounds from different areas, all kinds of stuff that makes it sound like the gig wasn't just a gig, but an EXPERIENCE. Trouble is, all the Rollins bootlegs I've got from this era are concerts, not club dates, and although he gets into a little bit of that on those, it definitely seems that he was more mindful of the setting and time allotments than he would have been in a club date. So all those reviews have remained as triggers of tantalizing fantasies of things never to be heard. Until now. Ronnie Scott's, January 8, 1965, opening night, first set (if Scott's announcement is accurate). Stan Tracey, Rick Laird, & Ronnie Stephenson along for the ride. And what a ride it is! Everything the old reviews mention is here. It might make for disjointed listening for the more passive listener, but if you can put yourself in the place of an audience member in the club hearing it as it unfolds instead of being a 39.5 year-after-the-fact listener checking out a CD at home, it gets pretty hairy (in the best possible way). THIS is improvisation in every sense of the word! Tracey is at a loss most of the time, as well he should be, being a pianist and all, Laird copes well enough, but Stephenson is with Sonny every, EVERY step of the way. Their interplay as Sonny stops and starts, bobs and weaves, cuts in and out of tunes, is darn near perfect. In fact, Sonny actually seems to be locking in on him and engaging him in a way that he didn't always do with American drummers (and definitely doesn't do today). As for Sonny himself, he's in that glorious mid-60s form of his where nothing is as it seems, and everything can be anything at any time. This is not the most coherent example of this style on record (and given the nature of the event, I'm actually glad it's not), but it is definitely some of the most adventurous, all things considered. Henry Threadgill has talked about seeing Rollins live during the mid-60s and what a huge impression it made on him, and I think you can hear how and why quite clearly on this date - the vibe of "concrete abstaction" (or vice versa) is very much to the fore here, in the tunes themselves, certainly, but especially in how the set flows from tune to tune (and back again and back again and back again and back again and back again and back again). some of the "interludes" sound like Air tunes just waiting to happen! Highlights are many - an absolutely incindiery 15:55 "Four" that is every bit as definite as what preceded it has been open-ended (Sonny just up and BAMS!!! into it and doesn't let up), a "My One And Only Love" that shows Rollins' gift for totally redefining a melody through shading and phrasing (and the occasional out-of-nowhere "wrong" note", and a "Blue 'N' Boogie" that may or may not be that a blues all the way through, one that finds Sonny finding some very jarring melodic and rhythmic structures simply by playing parts of the melody, stopping it on a passing tone instead of the resolving one. Recording quality is good enough to hear everybody (even if Sonny's "strolling" takes him to and from the mike to varying degrees for various durations at various time). Not recommended for everybody - too many people like their Rollins in "classic" form for me to do that. This is NOT the Sonny Rollins that you hear on any of his studio dates, including the RCA/Impulse ones. But it does have enough of those elements to it that I feel safe in recommending it to those who would be interested in hearing the great man treat a gig not like a set, but rather as an act of totally spontaneous, all-involving, creation. I've listened to it about 5-6 times now, and it actually gets wilder with each listen! And boy, do I feel sorry for Stan Tracey (well, not really, but that's the polite thing to say, I suppose). In short, it ain't perfect, but it is pretty darn fine, and damned if you'll ever hear anything like it anywhere else unless you got some private tapes from the same era. If you do, let me know - I'll be your friend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Thanks for the review, Jim. I'm extremely interested in hearing this. Does anyone know where it can be purchased? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 (edited) Dusty Groove had it, but is temporarily out. Put in a request for notification when it comes back in stock: http://www.dustygroove.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap...it&issearch=yes last item on page. Edited July 21, 2004 by JSngry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 The Bastards got it back: http://www.dustygroove.com/jazzcd4.htm#355161 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddydwight Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 (edited) got it. thx. saw sonny in Atlanta last April. he's slowing down some. geez, he's 73 or something like that. did 90 minutes flat. no encore. let his sidemen do a lot of the cruising. B) freddy Edited July 28, 2004 by freddydwight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sal Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Got it as well....can't wait to hear this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Now you've done it--I've ordered this one, plus the Roland Kirk in London, plus the Stan Getz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l p Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 i can't wait to get this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 i can't wait to get this. I thought you hated Sonny and his playing (lame shit)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l p Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 i can't wait to get this. I thought you hated Sonny and his playing (lame shit)? fa.ce.tious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 i can't wait to get this. I thought you hated Sonny and his playing (lame shit)? fa.ce.tious ...my fault, I must have read more into your previous posts .....in any event, I can't wait to hear this, will pick it up at the Dusty Groove this week (those bastards) . Mark (you could just spell it "facetious", I can figure it out) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l p Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 i stand by all my posts about sonny being overrated. i was joking when i said that i can't wait to hear this new release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Please post your impressions of the music on this cd. I'm interested to hear what you have to say about it. Kind of on the fence about getting it, not being a real big fan of the mid-60s Sonny and all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 i stand by all my posts about sonny being overrated. i was joking when i said that i can't wait to hear this new release. I really was confused , I thought you really were looking forward to it. I'm not really bothered that you don't like Sonny, I'm just pokin' a little fun at you; to each his own! Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 i stand by all my posts about sonny being overrated. i was joking when i said that i can't wait to hear this new release. If you dislike Sonny so much, why bother even reading a thread devoted to him? And then to make a confusing joke about it... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l p Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 i stand by all my posts about sonny being overrated. i was joking when i said that i can't wait to hear this new release. If you dislike Sonny so much, why bother even reading a thread devoted to him? And then to make a confusing joke about it... ? just because you were confused, does not mean that all others were confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 i stand by all my posts about sonny being overrated. i was joking when i said that i can't wait to hear this new release. If you dislike Sonny so much, why bother even reading a thread devoted to him? And then to make a confusing joke about it... ? just because you were confused, does not mean that all others were confused. I was confused too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 Time for me to search all postings by l p. I think this might be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted July 28, 2004 Report Share Posted July 28, 2004 you may want to start with the Yusef Lateef thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDK Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 you may want to start with the Yusef Lateef thread Funny stuff there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 you may want to start with the Yusef Lateef thread Funny stuff there! me & my big mouth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris olivarez Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 Thanks for the heads up JSngry. Sounds pretty wild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danasgoodstuff Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 l p Henceforth please spare yourself the evident pain of listening to any unissued recordings by Mr. Rollins that may come your way by just sending them on to me. COD if you please... By the way, Coltrane said of their meeting on Tenor Madnes "[Rollins] was just playing with me]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l p Posted July 30, 2004 Report Share Posted July 30, 2004 By the way, Coltrane said of their meeting on Tenor Madnes "[Rollins] was just playing with me]. and since coltrane never had a bad word to say about anybody, this statement does not mean a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l p Posted July 30, 2004 Report Share Posted July 30, 2004 Please post your impressions of the music on this cd. I'm interested to hear what you have to say about it. Kind of on the fence about getting it, not being a real big fan of the mid-60s Sonny and all... how dare you say anything against sonny, no matter what decade. you know, he used to play on a bridge. great stories in all the books about people seeing sonny out there on a bridge playing sax (or was it just one person who saw him only once, and the stories spread from there. and the retirement/unretirement periods, can't get enough of those stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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