(Sonny Rollins - the real Saxophone Colossus)

There has certainly been no dearth of influential saxophone players throughout the history of Jazz. I can name at least a dozen off the top of my head. But one of my favorites and one whom I consider a true giant of the instrument has got to be Sonny Rollins. His evolution as a musician has been legendary, his innovations have been milestones of the form. I can't really think of any sax players currently on the scene who don't owe some aspect of their style to Sonny Rollins.

I thought I would play some of his earlier material, when he was actively exploring bop and a couple years away from his first transformation.

This is from an album he recorded for Prestige Records with The Modern Jazz Quartet. The Stopper is from a session cut on October 7, 1953.

Glimpses of things to come.