Sonny Rollins Sonny, Please CD

Personnel: Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone); Sonny Rollins; Steve Jordan , Steve Jordan , Joe Corsello (drums); Bobby Broom (guitar); Clifton Anderson (trombone); Bob Cranshaw (acoustic bass, electric bass); Kimati Dinizulu (percussion).
Audio Mixer: Richard Corsello.
Recording information: Avatar Studios (Studios A, B, & C), New York, NY (12/20/2005-03/??/2006); Avatar Studios, New York, NY (12/20/2005-03/??/2006); The Carriage House, Stamford, CT (12/20/2005-03/??/2006).
Editor: Richard Corsello.
Photographer: Phil Bray.
By the mid-2000s, Sonny Rollins had established himself as one of jazz's official elder statesmen, touting a colossal, decades-spanning discography that boasted some of the best boundary-pushing bop and post bop in the jazz canon. With 2006's SONNY, PLEASE, the artist shows no signs of slowing. Flanked by excellent personnel--including a trombonist, percussionist, and guitarist--Rollins runs through a mix of originals and standards with a spirited focus that recalls the saxophonist's heyday. While Rollins has sounded more experimental, he is far from staid here, soloing with the bold intensity his legions of long-time fans expect.
Most musicians would at least be considering the idea of retirement by the time they reach their mid-seventies, but most musicians aren't Sonny Rollins. After a five-year recording hiatus, Rollins returned from a Japanese tour and took his band into the studio to cut Sonny, Please. It's the first release on his own Doxy label, coming after a monumental 35-year stay at Milestone that produced some of the most forward-looking, trend-setting jazz ever captured on tape. It would be a stretch to say that Rollins is still the innovator he was in the '50s and '60s, but it would be a mistake to underestimate his capabilities as an elder, because Sonny, Please is a respectable, occasionally brilliant effort. It doesn't hurt that Rollins surrounds himself with such fine players as his perennial bassist Bob Cranshaw, with whom he has worked since his late '50s comeback from an extended vacation; the ubiquitous drummer Steve Jordan; trombonist Clifton Anderson (who is Rollins' nephew); guitarist Bobby Broom; and percussionist Kimati Dinizulu. As supportive as they all are, though, Rollins remains the focus, blowing his sax as assuredly as ever, if with a little less abandon than during his heyday. Rollins splits the program between new self-composed tunes -- among which "Nishi" and the opening title track are the most exhilarating -- and standards, including "Stairway to the Stars" and Noël Coward's "Someday I'll Find You." Rollins' soloing is, as ever, full of both fire and fancy. The album closer, the tropical-toned original "Park Palace Parade," is somewhat typical: Rollins' tenor glides effortlessly from the start, exploring the tune's melodic nuances. He takes a break while Broom peels out tasty licks, then Rollins returns to approach the song from another angle. Most of his playing here is relatively easygoing. Rollins still enjoys taking it to the limit, just not as often as he once did. He doesn't need to, though; with nothing left to prove, he can afford to stand back and just enjoy being Sonny Rollins. ~ Jeff TamarkinDown Beat (p.57) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "He sounds terrific: big, burly, knotted and beautiful, nicely recorded here to boot."
JazzTimes (p.97) - "The edgier tone throws his expressive devices into stark relief. Every nuance is felt."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "His playing possesses a virile muscularity on the modal track, while on the standard 'Someday I'll Find You', he creates a beguiling aura of wistful elegance. Masterful."