Sonny Rollins
The Solo Album

THE REVIEW

   By 1985, Sonny Rollins was already a living legend; but for those who had gathered at New York City's Museum of The Modern Art, the concert they were about to witness already smelled like a feat.

   Sonny Rollins once again proves to be the undisputed master of the tenor sax. A concert of solo saxophone live, Saxophone Colossus Part Two. Almost an hour of pure improvisation.

   A testament to immense courage, it proves to be an inexhaustible volcano of ideas, with enviable athletic endurance to perform this immense feat.
Torrents of fiery air pass at great speed through that brass tube, cheeks puff up, the neck relaxes and contracts, sweat drips from the forehead, fingers chase each other rapidly, the back arches to allow for a final breath; meanwhile, the mind is relaxed, a state of inner peace, eyes closed to explore his world.

   This album leaves you speechless even after dozens of listens: it contains millions of cues, ideas, complete or merely hinted conversations, journeys through Jazz, cultivated music, popular music, Calypso, but above all, an exceptional number of quotations. Indeed, the quotations are one of the most interesting elements of this work; quotations mainly belonging to American popular music, denoting an immense musical culture. Not to forget, however, the continuous references to Rollins' own works (including a very clear Alfie).

   The fear of finding this work boring is absolutely unfounded. The concert turns out to be incredibly dynamic: the more melodic and lyrical parts alternate with the magmatic cascades of notes, which lead the musician to explore all the registers of the instrument.

   Moreover, as with completely improvised piano solos, the first notes are crucial. No exception here either; the first eight notes already herald the masterpiece. 
By the middle of the piece, the audience is by now a participant and protagonist in the musical creation, indulging in sporadic applause, exclamations, shouts.
And then comes the grand finale with hand claps marking the time and a surely exhausted Sonny Rollins, but certainly intensely satisfied for having succeeded in this 'colossal' endeavor.