Search - Sonny Rollins :: Work Time

Work Time Works Just Fine For Me

C. CRADDOCK | Bakersfield | 01/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got this record on vinyl from a friend whose dad, a jazz pianist, left it behind when he skedaddled. Good thing he left this, because I discovered it was a rare gem. It starts with a brisk rendition of Irving Berlin's There's No Business Like Show Business, that cooks, swings, and manages to be earnest and humorous simultaneously. Rollins is really working here, and he wants you to be entertained.



Then he does three original tunes, Raincheck, Paradox, and There Are Such Things, each one a classic well composed tune that could be a standard, if perhaps someone would write lyrics for it.



He finishes as he begins, with a show tune, this one Cole Porter's It's All Right With Me from Can Can. Sonny really loves well written tunes, and this one is one of Cole Porter's wellest written. He does it justice with his nimble rhythm, his robust sound, and his unbridled musicallity.



Only five tunes on this record, but each one a jewel, and on each one Mr. Rollins really gets down to business. Work Time."

Without a net

Matthew Watters | Vietnam | 04/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow. In any other musician's catalogue, this might stand as the crowning achievement. Sonny's got Way Out West and Newk's Time in the offing to match it, but Work Time is pretty nearly in that league ... and it may be one of Sonny's most consistently enjoyable albums to listen to. Work Time? They should have called it Play Time, because you'll rarely hear Sonny Rollins having so much fun, just revelling in his own creativity and prodigious technique, trying things in his deconstructions of tune and time that would send a lesser saxophonist tumbling. This is really Sonny Rollins playing without a net. And if that weren't enough, it's also the greatest performance ever recorded by Max Roach, who is all rolling thunder and shimmering cymbals and shifting rhythms. He provides this enormous propulsive drive, but he's also an Ed Blackwell-like texturalist, years before Blackwell. It makes Work Time sound way ahead of its time. (And you got to hand it to Prestige for ensuring this album cult status with that so-bad-it's-good cover art. It's so "punk rock", it pretty much assured for all time that only the most hardcore jazzheads were ever going to discover this album.)"

Extra Spicy

whoopycat | Des Moines, IA United States | 06/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not sure why this obscure set is not as highly regarded as Saxophone Colossus. This disc smokes. Sonny and Max Roach trade hot licks like a couple of dudes snarfing down buffalo wings at the local Hoot-ers. Max's drum solo on "There's No Business..." is worth the price of admission alone. His playing is so musical he sounds like he's playing the melody of the chorus just like a horn or piano player. Amazing. Anyone who loves the classic Clifford Brown/Max Roach group (which Sonny played in at the end of its existence) should grab this ASAP. The only downside is the short playing time of the disc (about 35 min)."