Next Album by Sonny Rollins (CD, Jan-1988, Fantasy)

Album Features
UPC:	025218631228
Artist:	Sonny Rollins
Format:	CD
Release Year:	1988
Record Label:	Fantasy
Genre:	Avant-Garde/Downtown, Jazz Instrument

Details
Contributing Artists:	Jack DeJohnette, George Cables
Distributor:	Universal Distribution
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	DDD

Album Notes
Personnel: Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone); George Cables (piano); Bob Cranshaw (bass); Jack De Johnette, David Lee (drums); Arthur Jenkins (congas, percussion).Recorded at Mercury Sound Studios, New York, New York in July 1972. Originally released on Milestone (9042). Includes liner notes by Orrin Keepnews.Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (1987, Fantasy Studios).With the recording of NEXT ALBUM in July of 1972, the tenor giant returned to the jazz scene refreshed and recharged by the last of his extended spiritual sabbaticals. Never again would this great improviser turn his back on an adoring public, but such was the intensity of their love that henceforth every nuance of his playing was subjected to the most thorough scrutiny imaginable, and made to stand comparison with the Sonny Rollins of the late '50s and mid-60s.NEXT ALBUM is a joyous recital, and the saxophonist performs with renewed power and conviction. "Playin' In The Yard" opens with an earthy concoction of calypso and R&B elements, goosed along by the electric rhythm cushion of pianist George Cables and bassist Bob Cranshaw, as drummer Jack DeJohnette offers up his distinctively jazzy variations on a contemporary backbeat. On "Poincinana," Rollins explores the classic ballad's lush changes on a curved soprano saxophone, with its distinctive tone and quirky intonation, while Cables and drummer David Lee engage in a freewheeling dialogue underneath. In his cat and mouse approach to the groove, Rollins hints at the kinds of rhythmic/harmonic brinkmanship that would distinguish his live shows by decade's end."The Everywhere Calypso" is a classic Rollins take on the folk antecedents of his Virgin Islands' forebearers. His cutting attack, extravagant tonal variations and sly harmonic twists give each fresh chorus a heady air of inevitability. "Keep Hold Of Yourself" finds Rollins engaged in a hard bop chase over a Coltraneish set of rhythm changes, and he responds with preaching, incantory figures before leaving the rhythm section behind in his reverie. On "Skylark," Rollins opens and closes with stunning impromptu lines, which grow more complex and fervent with each chorus. This peak performance shows that Rollins' tone has grown larger, his timbre more grainy and complex, while his harmonic sensibilities hint at new levels of virtuosity--the sound of an explorer commited to growth.

Editorial Reviews
...unmatched virtuosity on the tenor....a timeless strength....a quality album from beginning to end...
Rolling Stone (19721207)