Way Out West

Sometimes a chance encounter produces the best results. Such was the case when tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins arrived to Los Angeles in early 1957 as a member of drummer Max Roach’s Quintet with trumpeter Clifford Brown. Once there, Rollins discovered that Ray Brown was also in town with Oscar Peterson’s trio and that Shelly Manne was on hand leading a band of his own. The result was a March 7, 1957 recording session, which marked Rollins’ very first date in a trio setting and his first recording without the accompaniment of a piano or guitar. Rollins was at the height of his career during this period and in 1957 he was named the “New Star” tenor saxophonist in the critics’ poll of Down Beat. While the Western theme may seem like the idea of a crazed publicist, it actually sprang from the mind of Rollins himself. In his own words: “I loved the old cowboy movies I saw as a kid, Tom Mix and Ken Maynard and Hoot Gibson. They were never about shooting Indians or anything…They used to call them two-reelers, and most of them didn’t even have music. Just the sound of hoofs. I still love to watch those old films. I can’t remember for certain, but I am pretty sure that the Western theme was my idea. And it was also my idea for the cover, in which I am dressed like a cowboy.” Track Listing: Disc 1: I'M AN OLD COWHAND (Johnny Mercer) 5:42 SOLITUDE (Ellington-De Lange-Mills) 7:51 COME, GONE (Sonny Rollins) 7:52 Disc 2: WAGON WHEELS (De Rose-Hills) 10:10 THERE IS NO GREATER LOVE (Jones-Symes) 5:17 WAY OUT WEST (Sonny Rollins) 6:30