A Night at the Village Vanguard

Rollins, Sonny

album cover

An Apex of Hard Bop

This isn't the Sonny Rollins record with the richest backstory—that distinction belongs to The Bridge, the record the saxophonist made after a period of self-imposed exile when he spent evenings practicing on Brooklyn's Williamsburg Bridge. This isn't the Rollins title with the famous battle—that's Tenor Madness, which features a spirited duel with John Coltrane. It's not the one with the first great jazz exploration of calypso, either: For that tune, Rollins's "St. Thomas," pick up Saxophone Colossus.

No, this record chronicles a few nights in the magical jazz year of 1957 when Rollins entertained patrons of the Village Vanguard with just his tenor, bass, and drums. At the time, the style known as hard bop was oriented mostly around harmony; virtually every band had either a piano player or a guitarist providing the basic framework of the songs. Dispensing with this configuration, Rollins gave himself a major challenge: As he played familiar tunes like "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise," he had to establish at least an outline of the harmony to keep the group together. Most horn players avoid such an exposed setting, but its demands apparently did not bother Rollins. Throughout this thrillingly loose recording he creates fantastical figures that might not have occurred to him in a more conventional group setting. The openness proves ideal for Rollins's slippery improvisational style, and for drummer Elvin Jones, whose aggressive pulse, later heard in the Coltrane group, sparks marathon conversations, and short boxerlike jabs and taunts.

The Vanguard performances have been studied by generations of jazz musicians eager to learn the art of extended improvisation. Asked to look back on them decades later, Rollins downplayed their significance. "I always thought of myself as a work in progress. To me that was just another date."

Genre: Jazz
Released: 1957, Blue Note
Key Tracks: "What Is This Thing Called Love," "I Can't Get Started," "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise."
Catalog Choice: Saxophone Colossus
Next Stop: John Coltrane: The Complete Live at the Village Vanguard
Book Page: 659

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