Sonny Rollins – Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2 [Mono] (Blue Note Tone Poet Series Edition)

(AAA) — Lacquers cut from the original analog master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.

180-gram LP

Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original master tape

Plated and pressed at RTI

The Blue Note Tone Poet Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was' admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley (from Music Matters), a.k.a. the "Tone Poet," on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Having first appeared on a Blue Note session as a member of Bud Powell's Modernists in 1949, Sonny Rollins returned to the label in 1956 to record a series of four tremendous leader dates in less than a year. Recorded in April 1957, the saxophonist's second album for Alfred Lion, Vol. 2, found him in esteemed company with J.J. Johnson on trombone, Horace Silver on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Blakey on drums for a high-spirited bop date.

The six-song set opens with two rollicking Rollins originals ("Why Don't I?" and "Wail March") and closes with interpretations of two popular songs ("You Stepped Out Of A Dream" and "Poor Butterfly"). For the album's two centerpieces, pianist Thelonious Monk joins the festivities for memorable versions of his compositions "Misterioso" and "Reflections."

(Above description from AcousticSounds.com)