Sonny Rollins - A Night at the Village Vanguard (1978 Japanese Blue Note GXK 8101(M) Mono LP)

Vinyl: EX
Sleeve: EX
Obi: VG+

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Sonny Rollins - A Night at the Village Vanguard | Vinyl LP - 1978 Japanese Blue Note Mono Reissue (GXK 8101(M), Blue Note Masterpiece Selection 150, King Record Co. Ltd.)

Alfred Lion had already recorded Rollins in the studio three times for Blue Note. On November 3, 1957, he sent Rudy Van Gelder to the Village Vanguard to record the first live session ever made there. Rollins played three sets. For the afternoon matinee, the rhythm section was Donald Bailey on bass and Pete La Roca on drums; for the two evening sets, he switched to Wilbur Ware on bass and Elvin Jones on drums — the switch apparently made between sets, Jones claiming he happened upon Ware outside and was told Rollins was looking for him. The evening sessions dominate the original LP: Ware and Jones appear on five of the six tracks. Bailey and La Roca appear only on "A Night in Tunisia."

No pianist. Rollins plays these standards and two originals in trio format, which means every harmonic implication in the solos is his to handle alone. "Striver's Row" and "Sonnymoon for Two" are Rollins originals — the second named for his wife. "Old Devil Moon," "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise," "A Night in Tunisia" and "I Can't Get Started" are standards, each given long, searching treatment. Elvin Jones had not yet become the figure he would be inside the Coltrane quartet, but the interactive, polyrhythmic approach that defines his playing was already in place. Wilbur Ware's bass lines move constantly. The album was released in 1958. More material from the same session was released as More from the Vanguard in 1975.

This 1978 Japanese mono pressing is part of the Blue Note Masterpiece Selection 150 series, manufactured by King Record Co. Ltd., and includes the Japanese insert.