Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet

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Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet
Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet.jpg
Compilation album by
Sonny Rollins
Released1956
RecordedJanuary 17, 1951 (13)
December 17, 1951 (5–12)
October 7, 1953 (1–4)
StudioApex Studios, New York City
Genre Jazz
Length37:19
Label Prestige
Producer Bob Weinstock
Sonny Rollins chronology
Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet
(1956)		 Moving Out
(1954)
Sonny Rollins Quartet 10"LP
RollinsQuartetPRLP137.jpg

Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet (also released as Sonny & the Stars) is a 1956 compilation album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, featuring his earliest recordings for the Prestige label under his leadership, including four tracks performed by Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet (John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath, and Kenny Clarke), eight tracks where Kenny Drew and Art Blakey replace Lewis, Jackson, and Clarke, and one track with Miles Davis on piano. [1]

Contents

The first four tracks, featuring the members of the Modern Jazz Quartet, had been previously released as the 7" 45rpm EP Sonny Rollins With Modern Jazz Quartet (PREP 1337). [2] Tracks 5–11 and 13 were featured on the Prestige 10 inch LP Sonny Rollins Quartet (1952)(PRLP 137), which is reissued in its entirety here. Track 12 was released on the 10" compilation Mambo Jazz (PRLP 135). [3]

"I Know", featuring Miles Davis on piano, was recorded at the same session as four other tracks under Davis's name, using the same musicians, including the young Rollins. [4] This was Davis's first recording session for Prestige Records and his first with Rollins. Producer Bob Weinstock tried to dissuade Davis from using Rollins, feeling he was not ready, but Davis persuaded Weinstock to let Rollins record a cut under his own name. [5] The Davis tracks recorded that date were issued on the 10" LP Modern Jazz Trumpets and appeared on the album Miles Davis and Horns .

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]

The AllMusic review by Lindsay Planer describes the album as a "fresh and vibrant baker's dozen of selections... a vital component in any jazz enthusiast's collection." [6] Author and musician Peter Niklas Wilson called it "patchwork, but an interesting one." [9]

Track listing

All compositions by Sonny Rollins except where indicated
  1. "The Stopper" – 2:59
  2. "Almost Like Being in Love" (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) – 3:26
  3. "No Moe" – 3:32
  4. "In a Sentimental Mood" (Duke Ellington, Manny Kurtz, Irving Mills) – 3:20
  5. "Scoops" – 2:16
  6. "With a Song in My Heart" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 3:08
  7. "Newk's Fadeaway" – 3:15
  8. "Time on My Hands" (Harold Adamson, Mack Gordon, Vincent Youmans) – 2:42
  9. "This Love of Mine" (Sol Parker, Henry W. Sanicola, Jr., Frank Sinatra) – 2:26
  10. "Shadrack" (Robert MacGimsey) – 2:35
  11. "On a Slow Boat to China" (Frank Loesser) – 2:41
  12. "Mambo Bounce" – 2:25
  13. "I Know" (Miles Davis) – 2:32

Personnel

Tracks 1-4

Tracks 5-12

Track 13

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References

  1. ↑ "Sonny Rollins Catalog". Jazz Disco. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  2. ↑ "Prestige Records Catalog: EP Prestige 1300, New Jazz 1700 series". Jazz Disco. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  3. ↑ "Prestige Records Catalog: 100, 200 series". Jazz Disco. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Prestige Records Discography: 1951-1952". Jazz Disco. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  5. ↑ Davis, Miles; Troupe, Quincy (1989). Miles: The Autobiography . p.  140.
  6. 1 2 Planer, Lindsay. "Sonny Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  7. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1232. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  8. ↑ Swenson, John, ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide (1 ed.). New York: Rolling Stone. p.  172. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Peter N. (2001). Sonny Rollins: The Definitive Musical Guide. Berkeley, California: Berkeley Hills Books. p. 101. ISBN   1-893163-06-7.
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