Complete Blue Note Riverside & Contemporary Collection

This CD collection of the tenor saxophone giant Sonny Rollins is a great bargain. Having had the pleasure and honor of seeing Rollins play in Europe and the USA a number of times, as well as the regret of never being able to hear him live again as he struggles with pulmonary fibrosis, I take his music seriously, expecting good recording quality. I am not disappointed with these eight albums condensed into four CDs from the mid- to late 1950s, such a vital time of his expansive career, his pre-electric period. Whether you are new to jazz and looking for some amazing representative music from the genre or a discerning collector, you will be satisfied with hours of Rillins playing with exceptional sidemen,

This has all the great Rollins records from his earlier playing dates and is just an indispensable item to have if you are, like me, an avid fan of Sonny. His playing on all these dates is sparkling and just so superbly done. Sonny always brings a smile to my face and makes me feel just wonderful and there is not one cut on this tremendous collection that is not a 5 star example of Sonny at his best. This is an absolute must-have and is also a great bargain. To have all this wonderful music in one package is a real, real treat. Simply superb and great beyond words.

If you’re a jazz fan you can’t go wrong with this well remastered collection of sax master Sonny. The price was right and though I enjoy his later albums more -beginning with “The Bridge” - this 8 lp, 4 cd package of his early work isn’t a “bridge too far” and a great deal. Thank you Enlightenment for another worthy jazz collection -this one for Saxman Sonny Rollins

A great start to building a collection of Sonny Rollins titles, including Sonny Rollins Vol. 1 & 2, Way Out West, his first live album, A Night At The Village Vanguard, Newk's Time, Freedom Suite, Sonny Rollins And The Contemporary Leaders, and The Sound of Sonny. These albums were recorded during a busy year for Sonny, after he recovered from a debilitating heroin addiction but while he was still learning to be a band leader. He jumped to the top of the pack among young tenor players, and mastered his "strolling style". Highly recommended.

Oh, my is this box a bargain for 1950's-era jazz fans. Each of the four discs has some great standards mixed with some original compositions, and the sound quality is super. In addition to Sonny's saxophone, you will hear excellent bass and piano work. Lots of hours of listening pleasure for a rather reasonable price. If you have enjoyed any of Rollins' work from that time, you'll love this package also. As with most bargain bin reissues, the booklet information is skimpier than one would like, but don't let that stop you. Play this in your car when going on a long journey. You won't be sorry.

this is the kind of material that every discographer, librarian, collector, engineer, & historian wants--all original 1950s jazz hard bop aged -perfectly noted

Overall, a good value to have many of Sonny Rollins' great music in physical media. HOWEVER, as another reviewer already noted, the left and right stereo channels for tracks 7-15 of CD Number Two, for the album "The Sound Of Sonny", are out of phase. Which unfortunately, to my ears degraded the sound quality. Specifically, the bass for the 9 tracks, while present, is a little too light. Sound was harsh, and the imaging was erratic, randomly moving about. I had to digitally rip the nine tracks into FLAC format, and use software to correct the phase error of the tracks, so the music sounds cohesive, have better bass notes, warmer tone, and solid imaging. Note that all I did was invert the phase of one channel to make both channels in phase. I did not do tone adjustments or anything to change the music. While the FLAC files fixed the phase issue, that meant I am being forced to listen to the 9 tracks in FLAC format via a digital player, instead of listening to the 9 tracks via a CD player which is my preference. I guess I can burn the corrected tracks 7-15, along with the original 1-6 tracks into a CD which I may do at some point. I tried to find a way to contact Amazon and the record company so they will remedy for me, but I am unable to find adequate online options to resolve this issue. I did not want to return the whole set for only 9 tracks with problems, and I am able to have a workaround for my use. But other buyers may not have the ability to work around the problem.

Another terrific collection from the amazing Sonny Rollins. This collection contains six incredibly great albums and two pretty decent ones. Rollins delivers superb performances and compositions (there are also some great covers of Thelonious Monk standards). It would be nice if I could share this review on Facebook. But, Amazon has assured me that they are considering improvements to their website, including better collaboration with Facebook. Even if you only listen to three of the albums included, "Sonny Rollins Volume One," "Sonny Rollins Volume Two," and "Newk's Time," this collection is worth more than the price you pay for it.

En sådan soft gubbe Rollins är - fri från ansiktet musik - den rullar bara mjukt vidare. Utmärkt ljud. Bara att njuta av 4 cds musik.

音、テクニック、フレーズ、楽器の全てを引き出しているような演奏は聴いていて頭の中がスッキリする。 今回聞き直してみて、スローテンポの曲の素晴らしさを発見した。

I'm sure aficionados are not the only young people who are aware of Sonny Rollins' reputation as the greatest living jazz musician. As it's been a while since his doctor advised him to stop playing, everybody should look out for his golden age recordings. What do you know: here's most of it! All that 50's stuff on Blue Note, Riverside and Contemporary the critics have always raved about. Just add some Prestige and you're all set.

I haven't had time to listen in dept , but , musically , great / price & quality , an absolute bargain .

un classique seulement écoute disque 1 parfait