Sonny Rollins – What’s New (180g LP)

Featured in Michael Fremer’s Heavy Rotation in the June 2009 Issue of Stereophile!

Pressed at Pallas in Germany!

Sonny Rollins’ mid-sixties experiment with bossa nova was completely different than was Stan Getz “Jazz Samba”. Rollins stayed true to his bop and avant garde roots, using bossa nova as a surgeon uses a scalpel, to dissect and deconstruct familiar melodies and turn them into something new. This hip reinterpretation of standards is Sonny’s trademark, and in this album it’s uncompromising. The whole album is interesting and highly original. Rollin’s version of ‘If Ever I Would Leave You’ is nothing less than this: one of the greatest tenor solos in the history of jazz.

Recorded in RCA Victor’s Studio B, New York, NY, April 5, 25, 26, and May 14, 1962. Re-mastered by Steve Hoffman & Kevin Gray.