Rollins' East Broadway Run Down

[jmjk]

Anyone care to comment on this album? AMG does it a solid, but I always find the feedback from this community more reliable. I see Newk covers the one of my favorite and lesser played standards, "We Kiss in a Shadow", and Freddie Hubbard is on the date, which is a plus in my book.

[jpmosu]

I'm curious about this, too, since I just saw a used copy. I hesitated because I remembered the lukewarm review in the Penguin Guide. But the lineup is intriguing...

[Brad]

It's been years since I heard this and I actually don't have a copy (borrowed it from the local library at the time) but I'd give it a solid .

[skeith]

I own it and it is not one of my favorite Rollins records. The long title track is a little by aimless in my opinion. But I do like the other tracks and particularly "we Kiss in a Shadow" - is a compelling performance. I give it a mixed review.

[J.A.W.]

The title track is going nowhere in my opinion, and it doesn't succeed in holding my attention. The other tracks are OK, but this is not one of Rollins' better efforts.

[WD45]

I have this date and all I can ever remember about it is loving the second cut, 'Blessing in Disguise.' This is one of the trio cuts with Rollins, Garrison and Elvin. They are all swinging like mad, and they all get long solo features in the tune. It is somewhat rambling, but in the best possible way, as if they are all just having a good time playing the tune.

Highly recommended.

[JSngry]

Love it.

[sal]

I'm with JSngry. I love this album. Its a bit more avant-garde than Rollins' previous dates, but his playing is rock solid, and Jimmy Garrison & Elvin Jones really kick it into high gear. Freddie Hubbard's playing on the first track is stellar....sometimes its seems that the great Sonny Rollins has a hard time keeping up with him! Its a fantastic album nonetheless. If you are a big Rollins fan, its a must have. But if you are just starting on Rollins or are not a huge fan yet, you might want to hold this one off until later, but pick it up eventually.

[Alexander Hawkins]

I'm with JSngry and sal. A big !!!

[wolff]

NAY! Among other things, I can't stand the tone/color of his tenor during this time...hard and lifeless to me.

And those high pitched squeaks, yuck!

[jmjk]

Thanks for your responses, and keep the comments coming! As a result, I'm leaning towards buying this, even though there have been a few nay-sayers. All opinions and rationalizations are appreciated.

[JohnS]

A big yea from me too, though the title track tends to run out of steam, otherwise it's prime Rollins.

[Chuck Nessa]

NAY! Among other things, I can't stand the tone/color of his tenor during this time...hard and lifeless to me.

And those high pitched squeaks, yuck!

I really like Sonny's sound from this period.

[Shrdlu]

An interesting album, to me, but one can get a bit too "minimalist", or artsy, or whatever, and I don't think the music is in a class with Sonny's Prestige and Riverside albums. Sonny was badly shocked by Trane's work, and I don't think he ever really got over it. I remember seeing a video of him walking aimlessly around, playing a super-long solo which basically told the story of a lost man trying to find a road sign. Compare that with a classic, well-structured solo like "Dearly Beloved", or "Funky Hotel Blues".

Also, this album, like a lot of Impulse albums, is rather short on playing time. They could have included another number, and why not use Freddie on it. It is disappointing that Freddie is only heard on the one track - and, Sonny told him not to play any of that Coltrane stuff on his session, too.

So, on a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a Les McCann.

[J.A.W.]

So, on a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give it a Les McCann.

[JohnS]

[kdd]

A great, essential record in my opinion

[.:.impossible]

I really like this disc. The first track is great to me because I don't have any other Rollins music that sounds anything like it. Maybe because it just wasn't his thing. I don't know. Still waiting to hear the European tour with Cherry! Some day...

Another reason I love the first track is because Trane's rhythm section ends up in a space totally unfamiliar to fans of the Coltrane Quartet! I just sit back and wonder what they could have sounded like had they explored this music with John!

The other tracks are very nice. Loooooooooooooooose loose loose. We Kiss In A Shadow took me a long time to get into because it is so loose. Now it is one of my favorite stand alone tracks. I remember putting it on a mix tape for my brother one time just because it fit. This was before I truly enjoyed it!

[Z-Man]

Essential Rollins, in my opinion. It meanders in spots, but the high points are priceless. The intro to "Blessing In Disquise" gets me every time.

[Guy Berger]

I remember seeing the AMG rating of 5 stars and being really excited at picking this up. When I popped in, I kept expecting Sonny to burst into a confident solo full of ideas... and it never happened on the title track. Instead he sounds a little lost (unlike Freddie). The Jones-Garrison team absolutely cooks on this track, but not enough to sustain interest through the whole 20 minutes. If somebody knows what I am

My opinion of the last two tunes is much better.

Guy

[king ubu]

another for this one! always liked it.

ubu

[JSngry]

Well, if you're looking for Hard Bop Sonny, this ain't the one to get, that's for sure. But if you can handle some really masterful manipulations of tone, time, and nuance in a decidedly non-melodic fashion, then check it out and see what you think.

The later 60s found Rollins in another one of his periods of personal and career dissatisfaction, and after this album, he went to India to study Yoga (but not before playing a mind-blowing gig in Denmark that was captured on a private recording and issued by Moon on 2 CDs). You can sense that restlessness pretty strongly on EBR. In fact, the Down Beat review of the time refered to it as a "disturbing" record (although the reviewer gave it 5 stars, if I remember correctly). I can agree, in a sense, with those who say that Sonny sounds "lost" here, but only on a personal level. The musicianship he displays here is astounding - the control of all the variances of his tone has seldom been better displayed, and his time and rhythm, arguably the most flexible and detailed in the history of jazz, is to the fore here in the service of him telling his story.

So for me, "lost" is sort of the point here. If that's where he was, then that's the story he should tell, and tell it he does. But, like Homer's Ulysses, the adventures of a lost Sonny Rollins make for some pretty intense tales, masterly told. If they are not necessarily "pleasant" tales, then so be it. They are nevertheless real, and they are definitely gripping and suspenseful, at least for me.

The closest thing to it in Rollins' "official" discography is the version of "Green Dolphin Street" from ON IMPULSE, where Sonny is there, but not there all at once, like a shadow. I've mentioned in the past how Rollins' interest in the metaphysical comes through in his 60s work (this is just my opinion however), and the whole "shadow" concept ties into the higher levels of Yoga and Zen - you aim to "become" by "ceasing to be". I can definitely hear this going on in "Green Dolphin Street" and all of EBR. Interestingly enough, I can also hear it on his Riverside recording of "Shadow Waltz", a performance TOTALLY unlike anything else Rollins was doing at the time (at least that's been documented on recording). The "shadow" thing seems to have had a deeply personal meaning for him, because there's a near-perfect example of it on EBR - "We Kiss In A Shadow", where Sonny damn near literally sounds like a shadow. There might be all types of personal and socio-political relevance and symbolism in these cuts (and others. like the RCA "Django" & "Travellin' Light") and they may or may not be conscious, or there may be none. All I know is what I hear and how it makes me feel in relation to what little I know.

For most of his career, Rollins, like Bud Powell and Lester Young before him, has been faced with listeners who want (and sometimes expect and even demand) that he tell a certain story in a certain way. When he doesn't do it, these listeners often feel that what they're hearing is, if not necessarily inferior, then at least somehow lacking. And for them, it is. Fair enough. But sometimes, SOMETIMES, the story that is being told has a power of it's own if one is willing to adjust their perspective and more importantly, their expectations. EAST BROADWAY RUNDOWN, in my opinion, is a perfect example of such a story. It's puzzling at times, frustrating at times, scary at times, quite frequently brilliant, and always, ALWAYS, totally real. What it's NOT is "conventional" in any manner, save for Hubbard's role. It is what is is, and although I can completely understand the feeling of those who are either put off or puzzled by it, I can't agree even slightly.

Hey, like I said earlier - I love it!

Edited September 5, 2003 by JSngry

[jmjk]

Well, if you're looking for Hard Bop Sonny, this ain't the one to get, that's for sure. But if you can handle some really masterful manipulations of tone, time, and nuance in a decidedly non-melodic fashion, then check it out and see what you think.

The "hard bop Sonny" is very well represented in just about any other recording of his prior to this date, so I'm eager to hear him stretch out and try something different.

When I read the AMG review of East Broadway Rundown, one particular session popped into my head, and oddly enough, that was Andrew Hill's Judgement. The "spaciness" of the rhythm section work on Judgement is something that has always appealed to me. I love atmospheres, and I got to thinking that if Elvin and Jimmy Garrison simmer beneath Sonny and Freddie in a similar way to how Elvin and Richard Davis support Hill and Hutcherson on Judgement, then I will LOVE this record. Obviously, the only way to tell is to drop a few bucks and check it out. Even if it is not what I expect, I still don't see it as a waste of $$.

[jmjk]

Update-

I picked up a copy yesterday. It doesn't blow me away, but I don't think it's bad by any means. Repeated listenings will shed more light on its successes and weaknesses, I'm sure.

[Tom Storer]

Beautiful post, JSngry! I have "East Broadway Run Down" on vinyl (now sleeping in the cellar, due to a lack of turntable) and always liked it, but it's been a long time... I'll have to pick it up on CD. I'll also have a listen to "Shadow Waltz" and "Green Dolphin Street" with your post in mind. You've given me plenty of food for thought - thanks!