Very Best of Sonny Rollins [Prestige]

Liner Note Author: Neil Tesser.
Recording information: Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, CA (02/27/1958); Contemporary's Studios, Los Angeles, CA (02/27/1958); New York, NY (02/27/1958); Reeves Sound Studios, New York, NY (02/27/1958); Van Gelder studio, Hackensack, NJ (02/27/1958); WOR Recording Studios, New York, NY (02/27/1958); Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, CA (03/07/1957); Contemporary's Studios, Los Angeles, CA (03/07/1957); New York, NY (03/07/1957); Reeves Sound Studios, New York, NY (03/07/1957); Van Gelder studio, Hackensack, NJ (03/07/1957); WOR Recording Studios, New York, NY (03/07/1957); Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, CA (03/22/1956); Contemporary's Studios, Los Angeles, CA (03/22/1956); New York, NY (03/22/1956); Reeves Sound Studios, New York, NY (03/22/1956); Van Gelder studio, Hackensack, NJ (03/22/1956); WOR Recording Studios, New York, NY (03/22/1956); Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, CA (05/24/1956); Contemporary's Studios, Los Angeles, CA (05/24/1956); New York, NY (05/24/1956); Reeves Sound Studios, New York, NY (05/24/1956); Van Gelder studio, Hackensack, NJ (05/24/1956); WOR Recording Studios, New York, NY (05/24/1956); Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, CA (06/19/1957); Contemporary's Studios, Los Angeles, CA (06/19/1957); New York, NY (06/19/1957); Reeves Sound Studios, New York, NY (06/19/1957); Van Gelder studio, Hackensack, NJ (06/19/1957); WOR Recording Studios, New York, NY (06/19/1957); Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, CA (06/22/1956); Contemporary's Studios, Los Angeles, CA (06/22/1956); New York, NY (06/22/1956); Reeves Sound Studios, New York, NY (06/22/1956); Van Gelder studio, Hackensack, NJ (06/22/1956); WOR Recording Studios, New York, NY (06/22/1956); Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, CA (10/07/1953); Contemporary's Studios, Los Angeles, CA (10/07/1953); New York, NY (10/07/1953); Reeves Sound Studios, New York, NY (10/07/1953); Van Gelder studio, Hackensack, NJ (10/07/1953); WOR Recording Studios, New York, NY (10/07/1953); Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, CA (10/20/1958-10/22/1958); Contemporary's Studios, Los Angeles, CA (10/20/1958-10/22/1958); New York, NY (10/20/1958-10/22/1958); Reeves Sound Studios, New York, NY (10/20/1958-10/22/1958); Van Gelder studio, Hackensack, NJ (10/20/1958-10/22/1958); WOR Recording Studios, New York, NY (10/20/1958-10/22/1958); Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, CA (12/02/1955); Contemporary's Studios, Los Angeles, CA (12/02/1955); New York, NY (12/02/1955); Reeves Sound Studios, New York, NY (12/02/1955); Van Gelder studio, Hackensack, NJ (12/02/1955); WOR Recording Studios, New York, NY (12/02/1955).
Sonny Rollins was easily one of the most important postwar jazz saxophonists, and if he wasn't as experimental and explorative as John Coltrane, say, he was every bit as influential, and in the mid-'50s, there wasn't a steadier player. This set features tracks Rollins recorded for the Prestige, Riverside, and Contemporary labels during this period, arguably the key years and tracks in Rollins' catalog, including "St. Thomas" (his signature version of the old West Indies folk tune "Fire Down There") and the curious but intriguing "I'm an Old Cowhand" (from the 1957 Way Out West album). ~ Steve Leggett