Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
In Memoriam: Rodney Holmes, 1966–2026
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
One of the most-anticipated reissue releases of the year is Go West!, a three-LP opus exploring saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins’ historic output on Contemporary Records.
Set for a June 23 LP release date, the box has everything a vinyl freak could wish for: pressed on 180-gram vinyl, newly mastered from the original analog tapes by Grammy-winning engineer Bernie Grundman, pressed at RTI and 20 tracks of classic Rollins. The set presents Way Out West, Rollins’ 1957 masterpiece, and Sonny Rollins And The Contemporary Leaders from 1958, plus six alternate takes selected from both albums. Beyond that, the expanded booklet offers new liner notes from Grammy-winning music historian Ashley Kahn, including a new interview conducted by Kahn in 2021 specifically for the release.
In 1957, Rollins was 26 and ready to explore the world beyond New York, where he grew up. He took a headlong dive into the West Coast, where the cool jazz movement was heating up.
“The idea of freedom comes up often in chronicles of Rollins during this period,” Kahn writes in the liner notes. “It’s noted in the music he was creating — particularly in his decision to perform and record with piano-less rhythm accompaniment, allowing for a harmonic freedom, but also in his extended improvisations that developed into lengthy stories of their own. Rollins was developing his sound and approach on a daily basis.”
Rollins connected with Lester Koenig, the founder of Contemporary. Koenig was a former screenwriter and producer on the West Coast who was making a name with his nascent label.
As for the music, Way Out West connects Rollins in his first trio setting with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne. The results included the terrific title tune and the classic “Come Gone,” along with Duke Ellington’s “Solitude” and a wonderful jazz take on Johnny Mercer’s “I’m An Old Cowhand.”
A year later, Rollins continued his West Coast adventure, this time in a quintet setting with Leroy Vinnegar on bass, Barney Wessel on guitar, Hampton Hawes on piano and Manne again on drums. It’s an East-West affair of eight standards including “Alone Together” and “How High The Moon.”
For Rollins, going West was “like new beginnings to me,” he said. DB
(craftrecordings.com)
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Ibrahim was an early jazz acolyte, studying the music via 78s he would buy from soldiers stationed in South Africa — who also gave him the nickname “Dollar.”
Jun 30, 2026 3:19 PM
Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, the NEA Jazz Master from South Africa who helped fuse the folk music of his home country with…
Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet will record live at New York’s Village Vanguard for ECM records on Aug. 26–27.
Jul 22, 2026 12:46 PM
One of Joe Lovano’s buzz terms is “the moment of now” and with seemingly infinite patience — despite a schedule…
“There was something about her tone and sound and phrasing — an intimacy, a vulnerability, an honesty,” says Joshua Redman, who produced Cavassa’s record after she toured with his band.
Jun 16, 2026 1:27 AM
Gabrielle Cavassa is an avowed perfectionist. So when she failed to place despite becoming a finalist in the 2018 Sarah…
