Sonny Rollins - Tour De Force (1957/2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Released in 1957 on Prestige, "Tour De Force" includes the final recordings Sonny Rollins made for the label. The saxophonist is backed by pianist Kenny Drew, bassist George Morrow and drummer Max Roach, with Earl Coleman appearing on vocals on two tracks. The Penguin Guide to Jazz gives the album four stars out of four and describes is as being "almost as good as Colossus, with the ferocious abstractions of 'B Swift' and 'B Quick' contrasting with the methodical, almost surgical destruction of "Sonny Boy".

Wonderful Rollins work from the bop years – served up cracklin' hot, in a group with Kenny Drew on piano and Max Roach on drums. The obscure vocalist Earl Coleman checks in on two numbers – "Two Different Worlds" and "My Ideals" – giving a nice glimpse of a time in the bop era when players were much more likely to let a vocalist sit in on a set. However, the instrumental tunes – "Ee-Ah", "B Quick", and "B Swift" – are still the best ones.

A better purchase than Sonny Boy (OJC 348) which has four of this set's six numbers plus "The House I Live In" from an earlier date. None of the Sonny Rollins' originals (which include "B. Swift," "B. Quick" and "Ee-Ah") on this release caught on. With pianist Kenny Drew, bassist George Morrow and drummer Max Roach completing the quartet, Rollins was in consistently creative form during this prime period but the overall set is not as classic as most of the tenor's other recordings from the 1950s.

Tracklist:

01 - Ee-Ah
02 - B. Quick
03 - Two Different Worlds
04 - B. Swift
05 - My Ideal

Produced by Bob Weinstock. Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder.
Recorded on December 7, 1956 at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey.

Musicians:
Sonny Rollins - tenor saxophone
Kenny Drew - piano
George Morrow - bass
Max Roach - drums
Earl Coleman - vocals on "3 & 5"


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