Sonny Rollins - The Solo Album (1985)

This recording is a dream come true for Sonny Rollins fans, as Rollins presents an entire program without accompaniment in what must have been the ideal setting of the Museum of Modern Art Sculpture Garden. As expected, Rollins drops allusions all over the place and spins core melodic ideas into extended variations. The real fun, though, is simply getting caught up in the inspired whirl of the Rollins imagination as it darts here and there, managing to be both coherent and unpredictable in a manner that has earned him recognition as the music's supreme improviser. The enthusiastic audience, delighted to be along for the ride, even gets into the act at the close of this colossal solo session.