Product Description
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This collection presents Sonny Rollins in both a quartet
and pianoless trio format utilizing a combination of stellar
European and American accompanying musicians. The Copenhagen '65
concert is a splendid demonstration of why Boston drummer Alan
Dawson has been so respected and even revered by fellow drummers
around the world. Even Sonny Rollins, notorious for his demanding
standards for drummers, spoke of Dawson's work in the highest
superlatives. Both concert performances feature Europe's finest
bassist, the ubiquitous Niels Henning Orsted-Pedersen, who was
nineteen years old for the Copenhagen '65 concert and already
regarded as a jazz veteran and Europe's most in-demand bassist.
This is classic Sonny Rollins from what so many writers, fellow
musicians, and fans consider his classic period when he and John
Coltrane were regarded as the most important saxophonists in
jazz.
Review
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And it's a superb archival document, highlighted by
Rollins' remarkable improvisation and the extraordinarily
tight-knit support he receives from drummer/educator Alan Dawson
and bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson. Complete with a
twenty-four page booklet containing anecdotal, historical and
testimonial type essays, the overall program s quite a
bit of bang for your buck. . .At the end of the day, the black
and white footage reinforces the widely-accepted statement that
Rollins is our greatest living jazz improviser. Simply stated,
this flick should be deemed essential viewing for students of
improvisation and of course, Rollins' vast legion of admirers. --
eJazzNews.com, Glenn Astarita, October 28, 2008
Caught in Denmark/65 and 68 when Sonny Rollins was, well, SONNY
ROLLINS, the tenorist looks, sounds and plays like a guy who is
the Saxophone Colossus. With his head shaved and a sporting a
groovy beard, Rollins does the trio format with NHOP/b and Alan
Dawson/d in 65 for some room filling playing on "There Will Never
Be Another You" and "Darn That Dream". The band glides like
Katerina Witt on "Oleo/Sonnymoon for Two" as Rollins, with ever
cool demeanor, tears of the layers of the piece like pealing an
onion. The 68 quartet includes pianist Kenny Drew and drummer
Tootie Heath along with NHOP and a bereted Rollins for a
thunderous "Green Dolphin Street". Rollins' a capella intro, and
90 second closing cadenza, are simply heart stopping. Heath is
having a good time during this set, humming along "St. Thomas" as
he snaps, crackles and pops through the tune. Classic period of a
classic tenor. -- JazzWeekly.com, George W. Harris, September
2008
For enthusiasts of archival treasures featuring the great tenor
saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who were put off by the variable
quality of his recent compilation "Road Shows, Vol. 1," is
here. The "Jazz Icons DVD" release of "Sonny Rollins, Live in `65
& `68," featuring performances filmed for television in Denmark,
offers some of the best music that Rollins ever recorded -- in
particular, the 1965 session, from the Copenhagen Jazz Festival.
-- NewYorker.com, Richard Brody, December 9, 2008
Gift Guide: For the jazz lover who would appreciate the most
invigorating jazz DVD released this year: "Sonny Rollins: Live in
'65 and '68" (Jazz Icons) features the magisterial tenor
saxophonist at the peak of his powers. He creates a sustained
level of euphoria and invention in these European concerts. --
Detriot Free Press, Freep.com, Mark Stryker, December 20, 2008
Jazz Icons is doing for jazz what the Criterion Collection has
done for classic and important films. -- Jazz Times Magazine
The sound quality is first rate, and the performances are
extraordinary. -- Newsweek Magazine
This season has produced a bumper crop of worthy live releases by
Sonny Rollins. First came "Live in '65 & '68," a gem from the
latest series of "Jazz Icons" DVDs on Naxos (jazzicons.com).
Consisting of a pair of concerts in Copenhagen originally taped
for television broadcast, it finds Mr. Rollins, the great tenor
saxophonist, in casual form but at a creative peak, improvising
with an astonishing flow of ideas. In the loose but invigorating
1965 performance he digs in with Alan Dawson, a whip-smart and
underdocumented Boston drummer, and Niels-Henning Orsted
Pedersen, a precociously nimble Danish bassist. The 1968 concert
feels a bit more settled and less surprising, with Mr. Rollins
and Mr. Orsted Pedersen alongside Kenny Drew on piano and Albert
(Tootie) Heath on drums. In both instances there's a deceptively
breezy version of Mr. Rollins's signature calypso "St. Thomas,"
and he makes each feel like a fresh rtunity. -- The New York
Times, Nate Chinen, November 16, 2008
This, simply put, is one of the top few saxophonists in jazz at
his sure peak. The genius of 1956 was brilliant, and the icon of
today is an elegant wonder, but the Sonny Rollins of the `60s was
the Sonny Rollins you want captured forever at a true peak. Feast
on it. -- PopMatters.com, Will Layman, April 8, 2009
