Blue Note has done an admirable job of collecting the mellow material of a number of classic players for its
Ballads series.
Sonny Rollins' entry, like the others, finds the tenor in a late-night mood. The disc begins and ends with intimate trios offering fine renditions of "I Can't Get Started" and "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise," both featuring bassist
Wilbur Ware and drummer
Elvin Jones. The openness of these two live recordings allows
Rollins plenty of room to search and discover the right notes. There's a seven-minute version of
Thelonious Monk's "Reflections" with
Monk himself sitting in, and an adventurous take on "Decision" with trumpeter
Donald Byrd, pianist
Wynton Kelly, and drummer
Max Roach. Certain choices, like "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" from Finian's Rainbow, also show
Rollins' willingness to search outside of the jazz world for good material. It's difficult not to notice, when reading over the credits, other notable names on this disc.
J.J. Johnson,
Art Blakey,
Horace Silver, and
Paul Chambers help out on "Poor Butterfly," while
Philly Joe Jones and
Doug Watkins join in on "Namely You."
Ballads is a good collection of
Rollins' mid-'50s work and provides a good place to compare his technique in a number of different settings. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.