37. Sonny Rollins, Way Out West
Sounds Out of Time, episode 37
(This is the edited transcript of Sounds Out of Time episode 37. Here’s a playlist of the tracks featured in the episode.)
This is the second episode in a short series on unconventional trios, and I’m staying in the same era and the same genre as the last episode, which featured the Jimmy Giuffre 3’s recording of “Pony Express.”
This time it’s another horn player leading a trio through a western theme, but that’s where the similarities end. Next up is Sonny Rollins, with the feature track from his 1957 album “Way Out West.”
For years I’ve hesitated to do an episode on Sonny Rollins because I didn’t feel like I had a fresh angle. But Rollins’s trio recordings were in a class of their own at the time because they were just saxophone, bass, and drums—no piano, guitar, or vibes laying down a chordal structure. It’s a very lean sound that’s Sonny Rollins at his purest.
“Way Out West” was Rollins’s first trio album, and it featured Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. The original cover art is pretty classic, with Rollins standing in the desert sporting a cowboy hat and an old-school holster. A few of the tracks touched on western themes, and Rollins mixed originals with standards.
The first track is Johnny Mercer’s “I’m an Old Cowhand.” Bing Crosby recorded this in 1936 for a movie called “Rhythm on the Range,” but I prefer this version by Carson Robison recorded in the same year. (0:00-0:27)
Sonny Rollins’s trio sets the western theme right away with Manne’s drumming on the opening A-section (0:11-0:37).
Rollins’s parents were from the Virgin Islands, and he recorded a lot of calypsos throughout his career. On “I’m an Old Cowhand,” the combination of Manne’s beat and Rollins’s phrasing almost gives it a calypso feel.
My favorite tune is the title track “Way Out West,” which is a Rollins original. It’s a mid-tempo swing, and what I love most about it is the interplay among Rollins, Brown, and Manne. Rollins’s trio recordings didn’t feature a lot of counterpoint. What you hear instead is rhythmic call-and-response, especially from Shelly Manne. Check this out, for instance (0:34-0:53).
Or this, where Ray Brown gets in on the action (5:31-5:50).
Rollins made several live trio recordings over the years, most notably “A Night at the Village Vanguard,” which was recorded in the same year as “Way Out West.” It featured music from three sets performed in a single day with two different lineups. One of my favorites from that album is “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise,” with Wilbur Ware on bass and Elvin Jones on drums. Listen to the languid way that Rollins introduces the melody, bending notes almost like a singer. (0:08-0:31)
One of the great musical gifts of 2020 was the release of a Sonny Rollins trio recording from 1967 called Rollins in Holland, featuring him with Ruud Jacobs on bass and Han Bennink on drums. The tone of his horn is bright and burnished on “Tune Up,” which is an uptempo short standard from the Miles Davis songbook that Rollins would use as a canvas for improvisation (0:19-0:45).
After Sonny Rollins retired a few years ago due to health problems, he told writer David Marchese that, “When I was working regularly, out of a year I’d get maybe two performances where I felt like I was able to play everything that came into my mind.” He said he hadn’t made a lot of records like that, but “in performance I did reach the peak of what I could do on rare occasions. And reaching the peak always means you can still go so much higher.” He was a relentlessly inventive improviser, and the piano-less trio gave him maximum flexibility to ascend the peak.
Recent inspirations:
Elmo Hope, Last Sessions (YouTube)
The Lost Recordings of Bahamian Guitarist Joseph Spence (bandcamp.com)
A Guide to the Early Music of John Coltrane on Prestige Records, by Ben Ratliff (bandcamp.com)
Byron Berline, Master of the Bluegrass Fiddle, Dies at 77 (NYT)
Beach Boys, “Surf’s Up,” an a capella recording from Brian Wilson’s wilderness years. (YouTube)
Les Filles de Illghadad, Live at Pioneer Works —start with “Chakalan.” There’s nothing old about this recording, but the music is timeless. (bandcamp.com)