2
2channel lover
Audioholic Field Marshall
Reviewing.
Sonny Rollins'...the famed..."Tenor Madness"...1956...Hybrid Mono SACD
Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, two of the most noted tenor saxophone players of the 50s and 60s with Rollins, now 89, only recently stopped performing. They were often pitted and compared even to this day. As some jazz historians and Mr. Rollins himself noted...they were actually friends and both played in Miles Davis' bands. Tenor Madness is the only known recording the two tenor sax heavyweights ever appeared on together.
Tenor Madness was recorded just a month or so before his most highly acclaimed album, "Saxophone Colssus", making 1956 a stellar year indeed for Sonny Rollins.
SQ...4/5...Analogue Productions has done an excellent job with the SACD layer, as they seem to have the magic touch, but they were given a great quality master tape by Van Gelder. Most of his '56 works were recorded at Van Gelder's NJ studio. The mono recording stays consistent with a fairly narrow sound stage, but all the instruments ring through in great detail...splitting hairs to determine a huge benefit to the SACD but there are some subtle differences. For the current price of $15, I would recommend spending the extra few bucks for the SACD.
Content...4/5. Coltrane appears only on the title track, which is an amazing 12 minute + display of the two tenors sharing the stage with Coltrane taking the lead on the solo and the chaser with Rollins offering a beautiful b-flat contrast to Coltrane's piercing attack. The rest of the band is the who's who of musicians from the era...Red Garland, piano....Paul Chambers, bass...Philly Joe Jones, drums.
Summary...This is a great piece of work. In my opinion it falls short of Saxophone Colossus as my favorite Rollins' work, but Tenor Madness will be a stable in my collection. I'm still pretty young into my acoustic jazz library, but with over 85 titles in tow...this is top 10 right now.
The SACD layer is a steal @ $15, but not a must...the album in general though is a must have for the Rollins fan and any serious jazz collector.
Sonny Rollins'...the famed..."Tenor Madness"...1956...Hybrid Mono SACD
Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, two of the most noted tenor saxophone players of the 50s and 60s with Rollins, now 89, only recently stopped performing. They were often pitted and compared even to this day. As some jazz historians and Mr. Rollins himself noted...they were actually friends and both played in Miles Davis' bands. Tenor Madness is the only known recording the two tenor sax heavyweights ever appeared on together.
Tenor Madness was recorded just a month or so before his most highly acclaimed album, "Saxophone Colssus", making 1956 a stellar year indeed for Sonny Rollins.
SQ...4/5...Analogue Productions has done an excellent job with the SACD layer, as they seem to have the magic touch, but they were given a great quality master tape by Van Gelder. Most of his '56 works were recorded at Van Gelder's NJ studio. The mono recording stays consistent with a fairly narrow sound stage, but all the instruments ring through in great detail...splitting hairs to determine a huge benefit to the SACD but there are some subtle differences. For the current price of $15, I would recommend spending the extra few bucks for the SACD.
Content...4/5. Coltrane appears only on the title track, which is an amazing 12 minute + display of the two tenors sharing the stage with Coltrane taking the lead on the solo and the chaser with Rollins offering a beautiful b-flat contrast to Coltrane's piercing attack. The rest of the band is the who's who of musicians from the era...Red Garland, piano....Paul Chambers, bass...Philly Joe Jones, drums.
Summary...This is a great piece of work. In my opinion it falls short of Saxophone Colossus as my favorite Rollins' work, but Tenor Madness will be a stable in my collection. I'm still pretty young into my acoustic jazz library, but with over 85 titles in tow...this is top 10 right now.
The SACD layer is a steal @ $15, but not a must...the album in general though is a must have for the Rollins fan and any serious jazz collector.