Ah, but as Allen points out, Rollins is not avoiding documentation; he still releases recordings. I'll gladly admit that I'm speaking out of ignorance in this discussion, as I am not a musician, but there just seems to be something dishonest about releasing second rate work. Of all genres of music, I guess jazz is the one area where that is least bothersome; after all, the recording is most definitely the slave to the live performance in jazz, but still...
As for the commercial aspect, I can understand that. My first reaction was that Rollins (or anyone else) doesn't have to choose to have their work released by a major company; surely a small independent would be willing to record and release his work entirely on his terms. But then that would probably be as corrupting to the independent as a major company would be corrupting to the artist. If that makes any sense at all...
edited to add...
By the way, I know I'm over my head in this conversation; just ignore me if it's too painfully embarrassing...