new Sonny Rollins due Oct. 28

[CJ Shearn]

I think Sonny Theodore Rollins. Anyway "Road Shows" is wonderful. Sonny on "Best Wishes", "Blossom" "Tenor Madness", and "Some Enchanted Evening" is masterful. I just wish he'd decide to release the whole Carnegie Hall gig

[GA Russell]

I can't help but notice that the letter does not contain a spelling or grammatical error except the one word which was scratched out.

I suspect that Sonny's education was far superior to what many Americans receive today.

[leadingoboe]

I can't help but notice that the letter does not contain a spelling or grammatical error except the one word which was scratched out.

I suspect that Sonny's education was far superior to what many Americans receive today.

The album, for me, is definitely one of the best I've ever heard from Rollins, and that's the truth.

However, I have serious doubts about the discography. I have listened to it several times already, and have searched for recording details. The answers I get don't agree with what I hear. Just to take a few examples:

Track 3 (Blossom), claimed to be recorded in Umeå, Sweden Oct 25 1980, ends with the audience clapping in unison until cutoff.

Track 4 (Easy Living), claimed to be recorded in Warsaw, Poland Oct 23 1980, begins with the audience clapping in unison (identical with the clapping at the end of track 3), and finishes with Rollins' voice announcing "Tenor Madness", followed by applause running smoothly into...

Track 5 (Tenor Madness), "June 6 2000 Tama City, Japan", ends with Rollins thanking the audience "deeply" for coming to hear him in Victoria - "...this is our first time in Victoria..." - and runs smoothly into (surprise, surprise)

Track 6 (Nice Lady) "June 24 2007 Victoria, BC, Canada", ends with Rollins announcing "...from South Pacific, ...

Some Enchanted Evening...", running smoothly into

Track 7 (Some Enchanted Evening) "September 18 Carnegie Hall, NY".

Rollins' sound throughout seems to me to be of the same vintage. I've always thought of him as a musician in constant development, and I'd expect some differences over a period of 27 years. I also feel that the local acoustic is pretty much the same throughout, consistent with the same recording location and conditions throughout.

My interest in Rollins was awakened in the sixties with The Bridge, produced after a significant turning point in his playing. This album is arguably the best I've heard of his since then, with perhaps the exception of his Tenor Madness with Coltrane, Garland, Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. It deserves much better provenance.

Edited November 27, 2008 by Bob Everard

[EKE BBB]

Just won a copy of this CD in a contest at Rollins website.

http://sonnyrollins.com/contest.php

Really looking forward to listening to that one soon!

[Fer Urbina]

Interesting. The Village Gate gig Rollins mentions may well be the "Eddie Costa memorial concert" from October 9 (the letter is dated October 13). The concert was very long, but at least part of Hawkins set is on record.

F

Edited November 27, 2008 by Fer Urbina

[GA Russell]

My copy of the In Vienne dvd has arrived...It looks like there is a pretty fair amount on the disc in addition to the concert, including podcasts and an itinerary.

This is incorrect. I was wondering why I couldn't find anything besides the concert on the dvd. I now see that the website URL is printed alongside the references to the itinerary and podcasts, and I therefore conclude that the references were to the website rather than to the dvd.

[GA Russell]

As the title of this thread says, Wednesday will be the first anniversary of the release of Road Shows Vol. 1 and In Vienne. I've just listened to Road Shows, and I find that it goes down quite easily after a year of listening to it.

So where is Vol. 2? I haven't heard anything about any planned release from Sonny. Has anyone else? With 30 years worth of taped concerts, you would think that he would regularly issue some of the material. But I guess he marches to the beat of his own drummer.