Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass
Encyclopedia
Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass is an album by jazz
saxophonist Sonny Rollins
, recorded for the MetroJazz
label, later reissued on Verve Records
. Portions of the album were issued as Brass & Trio also on Verve.
Featuring performances by Rollins with Henry Grimes
and Specs Wright
and a big band featuring Nat Adderley
, Reunald Jones
, Ernie Royal
, Clark Terry
, Billy Byers
, Jimmy Cleveland
, Frank Rehak
, Don Butterfield
, Dick Katz
, René Thomas
and Roy Haynes
, the album was conducted by Ernie Wilkins
.
".
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, recorded for the MetroJazz
MetroJazz Records
-Discography:...
label, later reissued on Verve Records
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
. Portions of the album were issued as Brass & Trio also on Verve.
Featuring performances by Rollins with Henry Grimes
Henry Grimes
Henry Grimes is a jazz double bassist, violinist, and poet.After more than a decade of activity and performance, notably as a leading bassist in free jazz, Grimes completely disappeared from the music scene by 1970...
and Specs Wright
Specs Wright
Charles "Specs" Wright was an American jazz drummer born in Philadelphia.Wright played drums in an Army band until his discharge in 1947. Following this he played in a group with Jimmy Heath and Howard McGhee. In 1949 he joined Dizzy Gillespie's band alongside John Coltrane, remaining until it...
and a big band featuring Nat Adderley
Nat Adderley
Nathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley....
, Reunald Jones
Reunald Jones
Reunald Jones Sr. , was a jazz trumpeter who worked both in big bands and as a studio musician.Jones was born in Indianapolis. He studied at the Michigan Conservatory, and then played with territory bands such as that of Speed Webb...
, Ernie Royal
Ernie Royal
Ernest Andrew Royal was a jazz trumpeter.His older brother was clarinetist and alto saxophonist Marshal Royal, with whom he appears on the classic Ray Charles big band recording The Genius of Ray Charles .He began in Los Angeles as a member of Les Hite's Orchestra in 1937...
, Clark Terry
Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
, Billy Byers
Billy Byers
William Mitchell "Billy" Byers was an American jazz trombonist and arranger.Born in Los Angeles, Byers suffered from arthritis from a young age and was unable to continue his plans of a career as a pianist. He picked up trombone and played with Karl Kiffle before serving in the Army in 1944-45...
, Jimmy Cleveland
Jimmy Cleveland
Jimmy Cleveland was an American jazz trombone born in Wartrace, Tennessee.Cleveland worked with many well-known jazz musicians, including Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Quincy Jones, Lucky Thompson, Gigi Gryce, Oscar Peterson, Oscar Pettiford and James Brown...
, Frank Rehak
Frank Rehak
Frank Rehak was a jazz trombonist.Rehak, one of the finest bop players of the fifties and sixties, first came to fame in 1949, when he joined Gene Krupa’s Orchestra along with fellow trombonist Frank Rosolino...
, Don Butterfield
Don Butterfield
Don Butterfield was an American jazz and classical tuba player.-Biography:Butterfield took up tuba in high school. He wanted to play trumpet, but the band director assigned him to tuba instead. After serving in the U.S...
, Dick Katz
Dick Katz
Dick Katz was an American jazz pianist and arranger. He freelanced throughout much of his career, and worked in a number of ensembles. He co-founded Milestone Records in 1966 with Orrin Keepnews....
, René Thomas
René Thomas (guitarist)
René Thomas is considered one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 1960s, but has remained rather unknown to the general public. After the Second World War, he played with the "Bop Shots", Belgium's first be-bop outfit with Jacques Pelzer and Bobby Jaspar...
and Roy Haynes
Roy Haynes
Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
, the album was conducted by Ernie Wilkins
Ernie Wilkins
Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. was a jazz arranger and writer who also played tenor saxophone. He might be best known for his work with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie...
.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Ken Dryden states "Big Brass is an appropriate name for the large ensemble arranged and conducted by Ernie Wilkins that accompanies the huge sound of Sonny Rollins... Also added to this compilation are trio recordings with bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Specs Wright, including a brilliant leisurely stroll through "Manhattan," along with Rollins' tour de force unaccompanied tenor sax on "Body and Soul" Another bonus is the presence of four tracks recorded at the Music Inn with three-quarters of the Modern Jazz QuartetModern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet was established in 1952 by Milt Jackson , John Lewis , Percy Heath , and Kenny Clarke . Connie Kay replaced Clarke in 1955...
".
Track listing
- "Grand Street" (Sonny Rollins) - 6:04
- "Far Out East" (Ernie Wilkins) - 4:31
- "Who Cares?" (Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
, George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
) - 3:56 - "Love Is a Simple Thing" (June CarrollJune CarrollJune Carroll was an American lyricist, singer and actress.Born June Sillman in Detroit, Michigan, Carroll appeared in the Broadway musical New Faces of 1952, singing the Murray Grand standard, Guess Who I Saw Today, as well as two songs that she also wrote: Penny Candy and Love is a Simple...
, Arthur SiegelArthur SiegelArthur Siegel was an American songwriter.Born on December 31, 1923 in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, he grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey...
) - 3:01 - "What's My Name?" (David Saxon, Robert WellsRobert Wells (songwriter)Robert Wells was an American songwriter, composer, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945...
) - 3:46 - "If You Were the Only Girl in the WorldIf You Were The Only Girl In The WorldIf You Were The Only Girl In The World is the seventh episode of the fourth series of the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. It first aired on 26 October 1974 on ITV.-Background:...
" (Nat. D. Ayer, Clifford GreyClifford GreyClifford Grey was an English songwriter, actor, librettist and Olympic medalist. His birth name was Percival Davis, and he was also known as Clifford Gray, Tippi Gray, Tippi Grey, Tippy Gray and Tippy Grey.As a writer, Grey contributed prolifically to West End and Broadway shows, as librettist and...
) - 5:08 - "ManhattanManhattan (song)"Manhattan" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. It has been performed by Lee Wiley, Oscar Peterson, Blossom Dearie, Tony Martin, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme, among many others....
" (Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
) - 4:28 - "Body and SoulBody and Soul (song)"Body and Soul" was recorded as a duet by Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse in 2011. It was the final recording made by Winehouse before her death on July 23, 2011. The single was released worldwide on September 14, 2011 on iTunes, MTV and VH1....
" (Frank EytonFrank EytonFrank Eyton was an English popular music lyricist best known for co-writing the lyrics of Johnny Green's "Body and Soul" with Edward Heyman and Robert Sour....
, Johnny GreenJohnny GreenJohnny Green was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, and conductor. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earliest, "Body and Soul"...
, Edward HeymanEdward HeymanEdward Heyman was an American musician and lyricist, best known for his compositions "Body and Soul", "When I Fall in Love", and "For Sentimental Reasons". He also contributed many songs for films.-Biography:...
, Robert SourRobert SourRobert Sour was a lyricist and composer, and the president of Broadcast Music Incorporated .In 1940 Sour worked for Broadcast Music as its lyrics editor, and by 1966 had risen through company ranks to become BMI's president. Two years later he had become the company's vice chairman and was...
) - 4:17 - "Doxy" (Rollins) - 7:58 Bonus track on CD rerelease
- "Limehouse BluesLimehouse BluesLimehouse Blues is a world famous jazz standard , as well as a 1934 crime film is set in London's Chinese district and starring George Raft and Anna May Wong. The film is named after the tune...
" (Philip BrahamPhilip BrahamPhilip Braham was an English composer of the early twentieth century, chiefly associated with theatrical work.-Biography:...
, Douglas FurberDouglas FurberDouglas Furber was a British lyricist and playwright.Furber is best known for the lyrics to the 1937 song The Lambeth Walk and the libretto to the musical Me and My Girl, composed by Noel Gay, from which it came. This show made broadcasting history when in 1939 it became the first full length...
) - 6:32 Bonus track on CD rerelease - "I'll Follow My Secret Heart" (Noel CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
) - 5:31 Bonus track on CD rerelease - "You Are Too Beautiful" (Hart, Rodgers)- 6:07 Bonus track on CD rerelease
- "Grand Street" [Mono LP Ending] (Rollins) - 1:09 Bonus track on CD rerelease
- "Grand Street" [Verve LP Ending] (Rollins) - 1:08 Bonus track on CD rerelease
- Recorded in Los Angeles, CA, on October 20, 21 & 22, 1958 (tracks 1-8, 13 & 14) and the Music Inn, Lenox, MA, on August 3, 1958 (tracks 9-12)
Personnel
- Sonny RollinsSonny RollinsTheodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Henry GrimesHenry GrimesHenry Grimes is a jazz double bassist, violinist, and poet.After more than a decade of activity and performance, notably as a leading bassist in free jazz, Grimes completely disappeared from the music scene by 1970...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
(tracks 1-7, 13 & 14) - Specs WrightSpecs WrightCharles "Specs" Wright was an American jazz drummer born in Philadelphia.Wright played drums in an Army band until his discharge in 1947. Following this he played in a group with Jimmy Heath and Howard McGhee. In 1949 he joined Dizzy Gillespie's band alongside John Coltrane, remaining until it...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(tracks 5-7) - Nat AdderleyNat AdderleyNathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley....
- cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
(tracks 1-4, 13 & 14) - Reunald JonesReunald JonesReunald Jones Sr. , was a jazz trumpeter who worked both in big bands and as a studio musician.Jones was born in Indianapolis. He studied at the Michigan Conservatory, and then played with territory bands such as that of Speed Webb...
, Ernie RoyalErnie RoyalErnest Andrew Royal was a jazz trumpeter.His older brother was clarinetist and alto saxophonist Marshal Royal, with whom he appears on the classic Ray Charles big band recording The Genius of Ray Charles .He began in Los Angeles as a member of Les Hite's Orchestra in 1937...
, Clark TerryClark TerryClark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
(tracks 1-4, 13 & 14) - Billy ByersBilly ByersWilliam Mitchell "Billy" Byers was an American jazz trombonist and arranger.Born in Los Angeles, Byers suffered from arthritis from a young age and was unable to continue his plans of a career as a pianist. He picked up trombone and played with Karl Kiffle before serving in the Army in 1944-45...
, Jimmy ClevelandJimmy ClevelandJimmy Cleveland was an American jazz trombone born in Wartrace, Tennessee.Cleveland worked with many well-known jazz musicians, including Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Quincy Jones, Lucky Thompson, Gigi Gryce, Oscar Peterson, Oscar Pettiford and James Brown...
, Frank RehakFrank RehakFrank Rehak was a jazz trombonist.Rehak, one of the finest bop players of the fifties and sixties, first came to fame in 1949, when he joined Gene Krupa’s Orchestra along with fellow trombonist Frank Rosolino...
- tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
(tracks 1-4, 13 & 14) - Don ButterfieldDon ButterfieldDon Butterfield was an American jazz and classical tuba player.-Biography:Butterfield took up tuba in high school. He wanted to play trumpet, but the band director assigned him to tuba instead. After serving in the U.S...
- tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
(tracks 1-4, 13 & 14) - Dick KatzDick KatzDick Katz was an American jazz pianist and arranger. He freelanced throughout much of his career, and worked in a number of ensembles. He co-founded Milestone Records in 1966 with Orrin Keepnews....
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(tracks 1-4, 13 & 14) - René ThomasRené Thomas (guitarist)René Thomas is considered one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 1960s, but has remained rather unknown to the general public. After the Second World War, he played with the "Bop Shots", Belgium's first be-bop outfit with Jacques Pelzer and Bobby Jaspar...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(tracks 1-4, 13 & 14) - Roy HaynesRoy HaynesRoy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting more than 60 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz...
- drums (tracks 1-4, 13 & 14) - Ernie WilkinsErnie WilkinsErnest Brooks Wilkins Jr. was a jazz arranger and writer who also played tenor saxophone. He might be best known for his work with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie...
- arranger, conductor (tracks 1-4, 13 & 14) - John LewisJohn Lewis (pianist)John Aaron Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer best known as the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.- Early life:...
- piano (tracks 9 & 12) - Percy HeathPercy HeathPercy Heath was an American jazz bassist, brother to tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975...
bass (tracks 9-12) - Connie KayConnie KayConnie Kay was an American jazz drummer.Kay was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet from 1955 until the group's dissolution in 1974...
- drums (tracks 9-12)