Sonny Rollins Eight Classic Albums [Box]

Personnel: Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone); Clifford Brown , Donald Byrd (trumpet); Jay Jay Johnson (trombone); Horace Silver, Kenny Drew, Ray Bryant, Red Garland, Richie Powell, Thelonious Monk, Tommy Flanagan, Wynton Kelly (piano); Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Art Blakey (drums).
Recording information: Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ (03/22/1956); Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ (04/04/1957); Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ (05/24/1956); Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ (06/22/1956); Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ (08/18/1954); Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ (10/25/1954); Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ (12/02/1955); Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ (12/07/1956); Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ (12/16/1956).
This is an interesting collection of the European Real Gone Jazz imprint, pairing eight albums by Sonny Rollins on four discs, all of them recorded between 1954 and 1957 -- six from Prestige alongside his first two self-titled outings from Blue Note. The then Young Lion leads dates with personnel ranging from Max Roach and Clifford Brown to Donald Byrd and Thelonious Monk and even John Coltrane. Disc one contains Moving Out and Tour de Force, both recorded for Prestige in 1954 and 1956, respectively. Disc two, oddly enough, features Work Time (Prestige, 1955) and Sonny Rollins (Blue Note, 1956); disc three contains the fine Sonny Rollins Plus Four date from 1956 for Prestige and is compiled with Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2, issued on Blue Note in 1957. The final two recordings, Tenor Madness and Saxophone Colossus, were both issued on Prestige, and cut in 1956. Fans of these recordings no doubt already have them on CD; these versions do not contain the bonus material of later remastered editions and are presented for a budget price. ~ Thom Jurek

• Format: CD
• Genre: Jazz