| Tenor Madness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1956 [1] [2] | |||
| Recorded | May 24, 1956 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 35:24 | |||
| Label | Prestige | |||
| Producer | Bob Weinstock | |||
| Sonny Rollins chronology | ||||
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Tenor Madness is an album by jazz musician Sonny Rollins released in October 1956 by Prestige Records. [1] [2] It is most notable for its title track, the only known recording featuring both Rollins and John Coltrane.
Rollins, who had recorded with Miles Davis in 1954 and briefly joined Davis's working group in the summer of 1955, recruited the members of Davis's "First Great Quintet" to back him for the Tenor Madness session. This included, on the title cut only, fellow saxophonist Coltrane. Both were emerging as prominent tenor saxophone players, though Rollins had been recording under his own name for several years, while Coltrane's debut album under his own name would not be released until 1957. [3]
At the time of the Tenor Madness session, Rollins was a member of the Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet, and two months before the session, he had recorded as a leader the LP Sonny Rollins Plus 4 with the fellow members of that group. Two weeks before the Tenor Madness session, Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, recorded material with Davis for Prestige Records that would be later released on the albums Workin' , Relaxin' , and Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet .
Critic Chris Kelsey wrote that although the rhythm section's playing on Tenor Madness was "somewhat less vital" than on the Miles Davis Quintet session of May, 1956, [4] the historical importance of Tenor Madness lies in the title track. It is the only existing recording with Rollins and Coltrane playing together. [5]
The title track is a 12-minute showcase for Rollins and Coltrane. While the title piece's B-flat blues melody has become closely associated with Rollins, it was first recorded in 1946 by Kenny Clarke and His 52nd Street Boys as "Royal Roost", and has also been recorded under the title "Rue Chaptal." [6] "Royal Roost" is usually credited as a Kenny Clarke composition; as "Tenor Madness," it was credited to Sonny Rollins.
It is easy to distinguish between the two saxophonists on the track "Tenor Madness", as Coltrane has a much brighter and more boisterous sound as compared to Rollins' smoother, "wet-reed" tone. However, as jazz critic Dan Krow said, the two complement each other, and the track does not sound like a competition between the two rising saxophonists.
"Paul's Pal" is a composition by Rollins named for bassist Paul Chambers. "When Your Lover Has Gone" is a 1931 composition by Einar Aaron Swan re-interpreted as a drum-driven blues track. The ballad "My Reverie" (an adaptation of a Claude Debussy's 1890 piano piece "Rêverie") is one of Rollins's best known 1950s ballad recordings. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", a tune from the 1935 musical Jumbo , is a Rodgers & Hart composition which goes here from a jazz waltz to a fast-paced 4/4 tune. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [7] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [8] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [9] |
The AllMusic review by Michael G. Nastos calls the album "a recording that should stand proudly alongside Saxophone Colossus as some of the best work of Sonny Rollins in his early years, it's also a testament to the validity, vibrancy, and depth of modern jazz in the post-World War era. It belongs on everybody's shelf." [7] Author and musician Peter Niklas Wilson called it "one of the most famous combo recordings of the 1950s." [10]
All tracks by Sonny Rollins except where noted. [7]
Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a leader. A number of his compositions, including "St. Thomas", "Oleo", "Doxy", and "Airegin", have become jazz standards. Rollins has been called "the greatest living improviser".
Henry "Hank" Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Lester Young, and his style that was laid-back, subtle and melodic, especially in contrast with players like Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. The critic Stacia Proefrock claimed him "one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era." Mobley's compositions included "Double Exposure," "Soul Station", and "Dig Dis," among others.
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Edward Hammond Boatner Jr., known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording more than 100 albums. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern because of his tendency to rarely work with the same musicians for long despite his relentless touring and devotion to jazz. Stitt was sometimes viewed as a Charlie Parker mimic, especially earlier in his career, but gradually came to develop his own sound and style, particularly when performing on tenor saxophone and even occasionally baritone saxophone.
Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet is a studio album by the Miles Davis quintet recorded in 1956 and released circa January 1960. Two sessions on May 11, 1956, and October 26 in the same year resulted in four albums—this one, Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet and Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet.
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Miles Davis and Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet, also known as Quintet/Sextet is a studio album by trumpeter Miles Davis and vibraphonist Milt Jackson released by Prestige Records in August of 1956. It was recorded on August 5, 1955. Credited to "Miles Davis and Milt Jackson", this was an "all-star" session, and did not feature any of the members of Davis's working group of that time. Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean appears on his own compositions “Dr. Jackle” and “Minor Apprehension”.
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The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and relatively stable bands: the First Great Quintet from 1955 to 1959, and the Second Great Quintet from late 1964 to early 1969, Davis being the only constant throughout.
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Moving Out is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins. This was his second for Prestige Records, featuring Kenny Dorham, Elmo Hope, Percy Heath, and Art Blakey, and one track with Thelonious Monk, Tommy Potter, and Art Taylor. The first 4 tracks had originally appeared on as the 10-inch LP Sonny Rollins Quintet Featuring Kenny Dorham, and the final track had appeared on the 10-inch LP Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk.
Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago is an album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, his final release on the Mercury label, featuring performances by Adderley with John Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb.
The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions is a four compact disc box set of recordings by the Miles Davis Quintet released in 2006 by the Concord Music Group. It collates on three discs the entire set of recordings that made up the Prestige Records albums released from 1956 through 1961 — Miles, Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin'. The track "'Round Midnight" was released on the album Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants. The fourth disc contains live material from a television broadcast and in jazz club settings. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard jazz album chart, and was reissued on December 2, 2016, in a smaller compact disc brick packaging.
Chambers' Music is the debut album by jazz bassist Paul Chambers. It was released in September 1956 on the Jazz West label. It features Chambers with his Miles Davis bandmates, tenor saxophonist John Coltrane and drummer Philly Joe Jones, along with pianist Kenny Drew, and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams and trombonist Curtis Fuller on three tracks.
