Sonny Rollins - Way Out West

Mastered off the original two-track tape recorded with a tube AKG-C12 microphone on a tube Ampex 350 machine. Features Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. Over his long and distinguished career, Sonny Rollins has made many dozens of albums. Among those recorded during the fifties, Prestige's Movin' Out and Colossus, Blue Note's A Night at the Village Vanguard, Riverside's The Sound of Sonny, and Way Out West on Contemporary qualify as all-time Rollins classics.

The session for Way Out West, Rollins' first ever in California, was called for 3 a.m. to accommodate everyone's busy schedules. Sonny, who could never be accused of overstatement, announced after four hours of recording: "I'm hot now."

"This SACD reveals the musician's dynamic shadings like never before. Stereo it is, but the sound is so three-dimensional that I didn't mind the lack of 5.1 surround mix. To be honest, I'm thankful they didn't tamper with this classic. I've heard too many botched attempts. The whole affair feels very live, very in the moment - you know, like a jazz record." - Steve Guttenberg, Home Theater

Recorded in 1957.

Sonny Rollins, saxophone (tenor)
Ray Brown, bass
Shelly Manne, drums