Sonny Rollins – The Bridge (1980 RCA Japan LP Vinyl)

Reissued in 1980 on RCA Japan (RJL-2501 / JNL1-8385), The Bridge stands as one of Sonny Rollins’s most celebrated recordings — the triumphant document of his return to the studio after a two-year break from performing. Recorded in early 1962, the album reveals a leaner, more exploratory Rollins, his tone strong and supple, his ideas unhurried yet bold.

The quartet — with Jim Hall on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and alternating drummers Ben Riley and H.T. Saunders — brought a new lightness to Rollins’s sound. Instead of the driving piano accompaniment of his earlier sessions, Hall’s understated guitar provides harmonic openness, allowing Rollins to roam freely through the tunes.

Highlights include the joyful title track The Bridge, where Rollins’s improvisations arch and flow like the structure itself; the fiery John S., dedicated to his father; and deeply felt readings of Without a Song and God Bless the Child, each rendered with patience and emotional gravity.

This Japanese RCA reissue preserves the album’s original stereo mix with remarkable warmth and definition, pressed on high-quality vinyl and presented in a beautifully reproduced sleeve. The Bridge is not only a career milestone for Rollins — it’s a timeless statement of artistic renewal and freedom.

Vinyl: EX
Sleeve: EX
Obi: None

Our grading system explained here.

Photo is of the actual item.