Way Out West (Vinyl LP)

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Sonny Rollins's 1957 Way Out West is one of the most influential Jazz LPs of all time. Hearing it was Courtney Pine's induction into jazz sax, and many others tell the same story. It comes from a prolific period for Rollins, and features Ray Brown on bass and the west coast drummer Shelly Manne. The cover shot and some of the titles ('I'm an Old Cowhand,' 'Wagon Wheels') suggest a send-up, but Rollins has always loved conjuring rich narratives from camp material, and after the intro to 'Cowhand' he's off on one of his odysseys of seamless runs and biting accents over Brown's driving pulse. He's luxuriously wayward on Duke Ellington's 'Solitude' and swaggeringly productive on the uptempo 'Come, Gone' - the album's standout episode, represented here in two takes. Comes with original Contemporary artwork and Lester Koenig's absorbing original sleeve notes. Show more