An in-concert recording of curious nature and origin, this recording of
Sonny Rollins screams unauthorized bootleg, and whether
Rollins actually approved of its release is a question only he can answer. For starters, the title is
Soneymoon, which makes no sense; it's either a typo or a title simply spelled incorrectly. (The famous composition of
Rollins has always been known as
"Sonnymoon for Two.") There are no recording dates or locales (though the performances are probably from Europe), pianist
Kenny Drew is misidentified as a percussionist (credited "percussions"),
Jymie Merritt is "
Jimmy Meritt,"
Billy Higgins is "
Bill Higgins," and
Don Cherry plays trumpets. As far as the sound quality goes, it is inferior. A snippet of
"Without a Song" includes a false start; it is sloppy, with inconsistent production values and a barely audible
Cherry. It is totally worthless. Of the remaining three tracks featuring
Cherry, he's way back in the mix, as is bassist
Henry Grimes.
Higgins sounds unlike the typically sleek and facile drummer listeners know him to be. The group, even the tenor sax of
Rollins, sounds ragged, disorganized, and unfocused, particularly during
"On Green Dolphin Street" and only slightly less on a relatively unrecognizable
"Solitude." There are two quintet tracks with
Drew, vibist
Milt Jackson, drummer
Art Blakey, and bassist
Percy Heath that fare better.
Heath's introductory solo on
"Sonny's Blues" is outstanding, and the band does
"Oleo" decently, with
Jackson joining in well after the bridge. The finale,
"Lover," at a breakneck tempo for over 15 minutes, is an exhaustive discourse for
Rollins, with drummer
Max Roach and
Merritt assimilating the bulletproof trio of
Elvin Jones and
Wilbur Ware that
Rollins previously led. This CD has many issues that listeners need to be wary of, and falls into the category of "less than worthy" in the great discography of
Newk. ~ Michael G. Nastos
![Waltz for Debby [1962]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0888072323261_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Waltz for Debby [1962]")
