Way Out West (Sonny Rollins album)

Way Out West
Studio album by Sonny Rollins
Released	1957
Recorded	March 7, 1957
Studio	Contemporary Records (Los Angeles)
Genre	Hard bop
Length	43:25
Label	Contemporary
Producer	Lester Koenig
Sonny Rollins chronology
Sonny Rollins, Vol. 1 (1957) Way Out West (1957) Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2 (1957)

Way Out West is a 1957 album by Sonny Rollins with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, neither of whom had previously played or recorded with Rollins. This was the first time that he recorded an album with only bass and drums, with no pianist or guitarist playing chords. The reissue of the CD has additional takes of three of the songs, including the title track. These additional takes are all about twice as long, containing much longer solos from all three members of the band.

According to the liner notes by producer Lester Koenig, recording began at 3:00 a.m. to fit the musicians' busy schedules, but "[a]t 7 a.m., after four hours of intense concentration, during which they recorded half the album, and should have been exhausted, Sonny said, 'I'm hot now.' Shelly who had been up for 24 hours, said, 'Man, I feel like playing.' And Ray, who was equally tired and had a studio call for the afternoon, just smiled."

The cover photo was taken by celebrated jazz photographer William Claxton. Rollins stands amid a stretch of desert vegetation, dressed in a Stetson hat, gun belt, and empty holster, and holds his saxophone at waist level as if it were a pistol. The photo concept was Rollins' own idea to celebrate his first trip West.^{[ citation needed ]}

Reception

Contemporary professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
DownBeat	[1]

Retrospective professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Tom Hull	A [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[4]
Pitchfork	8.8/10 [5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[6]

In his AllMusic review, Scott Yanow wrote: "The timeless Way out West established Sonny Rollins as jazz's top tenor saxophonist (at least until John Coltrane surpassed him the following year). Joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Rollins is heard at one of his peaks." ^[2]

Track listing

1. "I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)" (Johnny Mercer) – 5:42
2. "Solitude" (Duke Ellington) – 7:52
3. "Come, Gone" (Sonny Rollins) – 7:53
4. "Wagon Wheels" (Peter DeRose) – 10:11
5. "There Is No Greater Love" (Isham Jones) – 5:17
6. "Way Out West" (Rollins) – 6:30

CD reissue

When the album was reissued on CD in 1988 (and in subsequent years), some alternate takes were included.

1. "I'm an Old Cowhand" (Mercer) – 5:40
2. "I'm an Old Cowhand" [Alternate Take] – 10:06
3. "Solitude" (Ellington) – 7:49
4. "Come, Gone" (Rollins) – 7:50
5. "Come, Gone" [Alternate Take] – 10:27
6. "Wagon Wheels" (DeRose) – 10:09
7. "There Is No Greater Love" (Jones) – 5:14
8. "Way Out West" (Rollins) – 6:28
9. "Way Out West" [Alternate Take] – 6:36

The 20-bit CD issue groups the alternate takes at the end.

Personnel

• Sonny Rollins - tenor saxophone
• Ray Brown - bass
• Shelly Manne - drums

References

1. Gleason, Ralph J. (September 5, 1957). "jazz records" (PDF). DownBeat . Vol. 24, no. 18. p. 27.
2. Yanow, Scott. "Way Out West > Review". AllMusic . Retrieved June 26, 2011.
3. Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Essential Jazz Albums of the 1950s". tomhull.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1233. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
5. Weiner, Natalie (February 17, 2018). "Sonny Rollins: Way Out West". Pitchfork . Retrieved October 31, 2025.
6. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 171. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.