Artist:Sonny Rollins
Song:There Is No Greater Love
Album:Four Classic Albums
This is another in my series of jazz legends for beginners. The only requirement is a live video clip and an affordable album for beginners. Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins is one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. His albums from the 50s like 1957's Way Out West is the best place to start. He was born Walter Theodore Rollins Sept. 7, 1930 in New York City. His parents were from The Virgin Islands. Rollins grew up in Harlem. He got his first sax when he was seven. Among his high school classmates were Jackie McLean, Kenny Drew and Art Taylor. After graduating from high school, Rollins started playing New York clubs and recording with trombonist J.J. Johnson, pianist Bud Powell, trumpeter Fats Navarro and drummer Roy Haynes. After spending ten months in jail for armed robbery and then getting arrested for violating parole by using heroine, he got his big break when his songs Oleo, Airegin and Doxy appeared on Miles Davis' 1954 album Bags' Groove. Then he went into rehab and was able to get off heroin. Upon his return, Rollins recorded with Clifford Brown and Max Roach. After Brown's 1956 death, Rollins continued with Roach. Rollins signed with Prestige Records in 1953. But his big breakthrough came with the 1956 album Saxophone Colossus featuring Rollins' signature song St. Thomas. After nine albums for Prestige, Rollins recorded for Blue Note, Contemporary and Riverside in the late 50s. There Is No Greater Love is from the 1957 album Way Out West on Contemporary. Musicians are Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. There Is No Greater Love was written by bandleader Isham Jones in 1936. Since then it has been recorded by many jazz musicians. You can get it on this Four Classic Albums comp from Avid available as a budget CD. The other albums are Tenor Madness (1956) on Prestige, Newk's Time (1957) on Blue Note and The Bridge (1962) on RCA. After leaving RCA in 1964, Rollins recorded for Impulse. He signed with Milestone in 1972 and recorded for them until 2000. Rollins retired in 2014. Here's Sonny Rollins with Walter Davis Jr. on piano, Yoshiaki Masuo on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on bass and Davis Lee on drums performing There Is No Greater Love in Laren, The Netherlands 1973. This entire concert can be streamed on YouTube.
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