With cooperation from the Verve and Columbia Legacy catalogs, the
Ken Burns Jazz series on CD individually spotlights the musical excellence of 22 jazz originators whose careers and influence are explored in
Burns' PBS documentary Jazz. Tenor saxophonist
Sonny Rollins is represented beginning with his composition "Oleo" performed with the
Miles Davis Quintet in 1954.
Ken Burns Jazz then chronologically (but all too briefly) touches on a few Prestige dates such as "I'm an Old Cowhand" from his inventive 1957
Way Out West album, but includes only one Blue Note date!
Rollins also trades licks with
Dizzy Gillespie and
Sonny Stitt on the Verve date "I Know That You Know," while "Body and Soul" rounds out his '50s recordings.
Rollins' legacy is picked up with "Bridge" from his 1962 comeback album
The Bridge, and the CD concludes with "Alfie's Theme Differently" from the 1966 soundtrack
Alfie on Impulse. While it's impossible to sum up
Rollins' history on a single disc, the highlights here should keep the novice listener interested enough to continue searching out more material. However, there is nothing for the
Rollins aficionado in this installment of the
Ken Burns Jazz series. ~ Al Campbell