Sonny Rollins Quartet
Tenor Madness | 200g LP Mono | Analogue Productions reissue

Analogue Productions / Prestige

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About

A TAV Essential Listening Album.

"Tenor Madness", originally issued in 1956 is a jazz album by tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins. It is most notable for its title track, the only known recording featuring both Rollins and John Coltrane.

"Rollins and Coltrane had both been members of groups with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk in the past. Rollins had had some recent success, and both were emerging as prominent solo tenor saxophone players.

Two months prior to the session for Tenor Madness Rollins was working at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in New Jersey on the album Sonny Rollins Plus 4 with Max Roach and Clifford Brown. And two weeks before, on May 11, Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, had been recording with Davis at the same studio to fulfill his duties for Prestige, sessions that would later go on to provide material for the albums Workin', Relaxin', and Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet.

Although the rhythm section's “playing here is somewhat less vital than on that session” (with Davis),the historical importance of Tenor Madness lies in the title track. It is the only existing recording with Rollins and Coltrane playing together.

The title track is a twelve-minute duet between Rollins and Coltrane, and the B-flat blues melody has become very well known for Rollins. It is easy to distinguish between the two saxophonists, as Coltrane has a much brighter and more boisterous sound as compared to Rollins' smoother, "wet-reed" tone. However, as jazz critic Dan Krow said, the two complement each other, and the track does not sound like a competition between the two rising saxophonists.

"Paul's Pal", a jumpy swing track, is a Rollins composition, named for bassist Paul Chambers. "When Your Lover Has Gone" is a 1931 composition by Einar Aaron Swan, re-interpreted here as a drum-driven blues track. The Clinton & Debussy ballad "My Reverie" is one of Rollins' most prominent examples of his lyrical skills from his 1950s' recordings. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", a tune from the 1935 musical Jumbo, is a Rodgers & Hart composition which goes here from a jazz waltz to a fast-paced 4/4 tune." - Wiki

"A recording that should stand proudly alongside Saxophone Colossus as some of the best work of Sonny Rollins in his early years, it's also a testament to the validity, vibrancy, and depth of modern jazz in the post-World War era. It belongs on everybody's shelf" - AllMusic

Musicians:

  • Sonny Rollins, tenor sax
  • "Philly" Joe Jones, drums
  • John Coltrane, tenor sax 
  • Red Garland, piano
  • Paul Chambers, bass

 

Features of this audiophile reissue:

  • Limited Edition
  • 200g Vinyl
  • Pressed at Quality Record Pressings
  • Plated by Gary Salstrom
  • Mastered by Kevin Gray
  • Mono
  • Deluxe high-gloss tip-on album jacket

The Prestige 200g Mono Series by Analogue Productions ‎: 200 gram Deep groove pressings, just like the originals where there is a deep groove that appears to be cut into the record label area of the disk, the result of the die that was used in the old presses in the ‘50s. Original tip-on jacket facsimiles with the original thick cardboard stock. The Monos are pressed with a flat-edge, no groove-guard flat profile, just like the originals.

Item description:        

Artist:

Sonny Rollins Quartet

Title:

Tenor Madness

Label:

Analogue Productions / Prestige

Format:

Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, Reissue, Limited Edition, 200gram

Pressing:

US

Release Date:

This reissue: 2013 | Original issue: 1956

Genre:

Jazz

Style:

Bop, Hard Bop, Tenor Saxophone

Catalog No:

APRJ 7047

Condition:

New