05/26/2026
Sonny Rollins was one of the most important voices in jazz from the 1950s onward: a deep improviser and master of the tenor saxophone. A player whose sound, imagination, humor, and relentless pursuit of growth changed the language of jazz.
Here, I’ll focus on the aspect of his music that first made a strong impression on me, both as a musician and as a listener: a series of trio albums recorded in 1957 and 1958, featuring only tenor sax, bass, and drums — a format Sonny helped define.
First, Way Out West, the first time he recorded in that instrumentation, made in Los Angeles with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne. Sonny said he had “all these Western songs in mind from my youth,” describing the album as “a tribute to independence and being self-sufficient, which is what the West really means — at least in Westerns.” Perhaps unlikely material for a jazz record, with tunes like “I’m an Old Cowhand,” complete with Shelly Manne’s clip-clop woodblock, and “Wagon Wheels” — but clearly reflective of Sonny’s personality and imagination. And don’t forget the iconic album cover image: Sonny as cowboy!
Next came A Night at the Village Vanguard — my favorite Sonny album, if I had to pick one. A spontaneous affair featuring Elvin Jones and Wilbur Ware, it included standard tunes called on the fly. (There’s a hilarious story about how Elvin came to be there that evening, which you can find in Sonny’s biography by Aidan Levy — highly recommended.) Sonny is killing it, swinging on all cylinders, but also liable to quote “Three Blind Mice” in the middle of a solo.
Finally, there’s Freedom Suite. The extended title composition, built from minimal motivic material as a jumping-off point for group improvisation, feels ahead of its time. In some ways, it foreshadows later large-scale jazz suites like John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. The album has been referred to as the first prominent civil rights–themed album of the modern jazz era. Sonny described it as “an attempt to introduce some kind of black pride into the conversation of the time” … “That was my history.”
All three albums are tremendous, and notably all came before the period he is most known for in popular culture: his withdrawal from the scene to practice with great intensity on the pedestrian walkway of New York City’s Williamsburg Bridge.
If you don't know these records (or even if you do), put one on and enjoy.
Thank you, Sonny Rollins!
Rob Ewing
Jazzschool Director of Education
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