1. The Freedom Suite
2. Someday I'll Find You
3. Will You Still Be Mine?
4. Till There Was You (take 4)
5. Shadow Waltz
6. Till There Was You (take 1)
7. Till There Was You (take 3)
8. There Will Never Be Another You
Sonny Rollins - Tenor sax
Oscar Pettiiford - Bass
Max Roach - Drums
Now reissued in the "Keepnews
Collection", this album was contentious when
it first appeared in 1958. It is said that
the album in its original form included a
note from Sonny Rollins himself, saying: "America
is deeply rooted in Negro culture; its colloquialisms,
its humor, its music. How
ironic that the Negro, who more than any other
people can claim America's culture as his
own, is being persecuted and repressed; that
the Negro, who has exemplified the humanities
in his very existence, is being rewarded with
inhumanity". Within a short time, the
album was withdrawn and reissued with the
new title Shadow Waltz and Rollins'
quotation deleted. We may hope that such short-sighted
censorship is now dead in the USA, which has
just elected its first African-American president.
The title-track of this album
is like a mini-symphony, in four separate
movements, lasting nearly 20 minutes. The
movements are unified by reference to the
opening theme - rather in the style which
Ornette Coleman was developing at almost the
same time. Rollins stretches out in some extended
improvisations, but he allows plenty of space
to his bassist and drummer (Oscar Pettiford
and Max Roach). The most thrilling movement
is the last of the four, where Max Roach plays
some energetic breaks.
The remaining tracks provide
an interesting contrast, in that they are
mostly popular tunes, including the two waltzes,
Someday I'll Find You and Shadow
Waltz. We know by now that Sonny Rollins
has a predilection for choosing songs not
attempted by many jazz musicians and he usually
works his magic on them, as he does here,
proving that even the most unlikely numbers
can be suitable subjects for jazz improvisation.
This is particularly true of Till There
Was You, which appears here in three different
takes. Another bonus track is There Will
Never Be Another You, which Pettiford
and Roach recorded as a duet, because Rollins
was late arriving at the studio. Pettiford
plays the melody on bass, then improvises
on the tune before sharing fours with Roach
and assisting in Max's drum solo (splendid
brushwork!).
The work of the bassist and
drummer is as estimable as Rollins' own playing,
which is as inventively original as ever.
Strange, then, that the year after this album
was recorded, Sonny withdrew for three years
from playing in public (except practising
on New York's Williamsburg Bridge!), because
he was unsatisfied with his playing - as well
as being unhappy for other reasons. In fact
his playing has maintained a remarkably high
standard for many decades - and he is still
at it!
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Riverside
0888072305076
