Sonny Rollins on Impulse!
Encyclopedia
Sonny Rollins on Impulse! is an album by jazz
saxophonist Sonny Rollins
, his first to be released on the Impulse! label, featuring performances by Rollins with Ray Bryant
, Walter Booker
and Mickey Roker
.
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...
, his first to be released on the Impulse! label, featuring performances by Rollins with Ray Bryant
Ray Bryant
Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant was an American Jazz pianist and composer.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ray Bryant began playing the piano at the age of six, also performing on bass in junior High School...
, Walter Booker
Walter Booker
Walter Booker was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques.-Biography:Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s...
and Mickey Roker
Mickey Roker
Granville "Mickey" Roker is an American jazz drummer. Roker was born into extreme poverty in Miami to Granville and Willie Mae Roker...
.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "This date is significant for the manner in which Rollins attacks five standards with a quartet... Sonny Rollins on Impulse! feels as if it were a recording Rollins had to get out of his system. But thank goodness for us because it's a winner through and through".Track listing
- "On Green Dolphin StreetOn Green Dolphin Street (song)"On Green Dolphin Street" is a 1947 popular song composed by Bronislau Kaper with lyrics by Ned Washington. The song, composed for the film Green Dolphin Street, went on to become a jazz standard after being recorded by Miles Davis...
" (Bronislaw KaperBronislaw KaperBronisław Kaper was a Polish film composer who scored films and musical theater in Germany, France, and the USA. The American immigration authorities misspelled his name as Bronislau Kaper...
, Ned WashingtonNed WashingtonNed Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
) - 7:10 - "Everything Happens to MeEverything Happens to Me (song)Everything Happens to Me is a classic pop song written by Tom Adair and Matt Dennis in 1940. It was first recorded by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, featuring his then-singer, Frank Sinatra....
" (Tom AdairTom AdairThomas "Tom" Montgomery Adair was an American songwriter, composer, and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in Newton, Kansas, worked at a power company and the Saturday Evening Post, writing numerous poems, while penning the songs in his spare time. In 1941, Adair met Matt Dennis in a club and the duo...
, Matt DennisMatt DennisMatt Dennis was a singer, pianist, bandleader, arranger, and writer of music for popular music songs.He was born in Seattle, Washington. His mother was a violinist and his father a singer, and the family was in vaudeville, so he was early exposed to music. In 1933 he joined Horace Heidt's...
) - 11:14 - "Hold 'Em Joe" (Harry Thomas) - 5:30
- "The Blue Room" (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...
) - 3:44 - "Three Little Words" (Bert KalmarBert KalmarBert Kalmar was a Jewish American lyricist.He was born in New York, New York. He ran away from home at the age of 10 to become a magician at a tent show, and retained an interest in magic all his life. He never got much of an education, but decided to make a career in show business...
, Harry RubyHarry RubyHarry Ruby was a Jewish American songwriter and screenwriter.After failing in his early ambition to become a professional baseball player,...
) - 6:56- Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, on July 8, 1965
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... - Ray BryantRay BryantRaphael Homer "Ray" Bryant was an American Jazz pianist and composer.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ray Bryant began playing the piano at the age of six, also performing on bass in junior High School...
– 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... - Walter BookerWalter BookerWalter Booker was an American jazz musician. A native of Prairie View, Texas, Booker was a reliable bass player and an underrated stylist. His playing was marked by voice-like inflections, glissandos and tremolo techniques.-Biography:Booker moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in the mid 1940s...
– 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... - Mickey RokerMickey RokerGranville "Mickey" Roker is an American jazz drummer. Roker was born into extreme poverty in Miami to Granville and Willie Mae Roker...
– 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 ....