The Best of Sonny Rollins [Prestige] (2004)

About this title: It's easy to look at the titles of a number of jazz musicians' albums from the 1950s and wonder to oneself: were these guys egotistical? Tenor Sonny Rollins, for instance, named one album Saxophone Colossus and another Tour de Force. While one might blush at the lack of modesty, it's still difficult to argue about the results. Rollins, as he appears on The Best of Sonny Rollins, simply is a colossus and the music he makes is a tour de force. The album collects tracks from Rollins' work on Prestige during the early- to mid-'50s, some of the most exciting work he has ever laid down on ... read more

Tracks:

1. St. Thomas [Rollins]
2. More Than You Know [Youmans/Rose/Eliscu]
3. I Feel a Song Coming On [Fields/McHugh/Oppen]
4. On a Slow Boat to China [Loesser]
5. My Ideal [Robin/Whiting/Chase]
6. It's All Right With Me [Porter]
7. In a Sentimental Mood [Ellington]
8. Moritat [Weill/Brecht]
9. Mambo Bounce [Rollins]
10. Tenor Madness [Rollins]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.