Customer Reviews
One of the best modern jazz albums ever! - By: Mr. Paul Arthur Cambridge, 23 Jan 2008 
If you only ever own ONE album by Sonny Rollins, this has to be it. Having said that, why have you only one album by the great man???.... More like 10 stars!
The Master's Masterpiece - By: A. Friswell, 03 Mar 2007 Quite simply the best recording Rollins ever made, & that's saying a lot. I heard this as one of my forays into modern jazz backin the 60s & am as delighted & amazed now as then with his inventiveness & his ability to swing like blazes. St Thomas & Strode Road were available on EPin those days, & it's a pleasure to have the other pieces added.
Rollins is the only sax player who can make his instrument moo like a cow - & still sound good.
Flanagan solos & comps very professionally, & even my bete noire, Max Roach, plays with restraint & rhythm.
Buy this with every confidence.
Rollins the master - By: S J Buck, 30 Sep 2006 This is one of the best ever Jazz albums, recorded by one of the top five tenor playersin Jazz history.
The other musicians are:
Tommy Flanagan - Piano
Doug Watkins - Bass
Max Roach - drums
Even if you're not a Jazz fan you'll know Sonny Rollins 'St Thomas' which opens the album, with its calypso melody its one of the best known Jazz tunes. The performances are uniformly excellent & the sound is incredible since this album was recorded 50 years ago.
The track 'Moritat' isin fact 'The theme from the three penny opera', but it sounds remarkably similar to 'Mack the Knife'. Whatever the tune really is, Rollins is never less throughly inventive, as anyone who has seen him live will testify to. This track perhaps contains the highlight of the album, where Sonny Rollins trades 4's with Max Roach.
This is one of the classic Jazz albums & should bein everyones collection.
