I have to admit I was never much of a fan of Sonny Rollins. I hate St. Thomas, it's so fucking tedious and I hate the base melody for it. I know this is sacrilegious as Sonny is one of the greatest giants in jazz that ever lived (and still lives!) but I just could never get into his music or style of playing. With that being said I can't say I haven't tried a bunch of his albums and out of all of them this one came out on top for me. The cover alone should make you wanna pick this up as the lineup is completely stellar with Dizzy and Stitt sharing the spotlight. The album kicks off with a standard I always loved called On the Sunny Side of the Street but it's a complete filler of a song. It's not long and Dizzy even chimes in with some singing but ultimately it's just there to have pop tune at the begging. The real meat and potato of this album are the two +10 minute tracks where there is plenty of room for all leads to jive in with their instruments. Both tracks absolutely rip apart everything in the room (you can even hear Dizzy yelling "YEAAAH" in the back at times) and it's just one fantastic solo after another. They enjoyed making this and you can really hear it. Absolutely recommended.
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I'm with you regarding St Thomas et al. I never got the hype surrounding this player either - I tried quite few albums as well.. ok then, maybe this one will get me grooving. Perseverance must pay off at some point! Thanks for pushing this.
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