Search - Sonny Rollins :: Dancing in the Dark

Old Man Jazz

Christopher Calabrese | Watertown, CT, USA | 03/26/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Would anyone care to venture a guess as to why I'm the first person to review this cd, and furthermore why it is no longer in print?



Sonny Rollins is one of the most amazing tenor players in the history of jazz. His career has spanned over sixty years, and he has outlived many of the legends he has recorded with including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonius Monk. He was amazing in the 50's and 60's and has resurrected himself in the 90's and later. Somewhere in the middle, he got into funk and r&b a bit too much and released garbage like DANCING IN THE DARK during the 70's and 80's. You will find that when exploring Sonny's garbage catalog, you'll come across many cds with one or two great tracks and five or six fillers. Case in point...



'Just Once' is warm and full of feeling. Sonny's lyricism is inventive and Clifton Anderson (bass) sounds great. The title track is also superb, beginning with one of Sonny's trademark solos that he would develop during his Milestone years. Just about every other track could pass as elevator music, except for 'Duke of Iron' which could be a crusie ship standard.



If you're searching for decent Sonny from this era, you may just not find any. I would recommend, however, that you check out the live concert, 1986's G-MAN which includes an electric 'Tenor Madness' and the 70's-era Sonny hit, 'Don't Stop the Carnival'. The title track is a 15-minute accompanied solo with a repeating theme. Bob Cranshaw is on bass, and if electric Sonny is your thing, it may be your cup of tea."