''G-Man'' is a live album by American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist Sonny Rollins. It was recorded at an outdoor concert on August 16, 1986, held at Opus 40 in

Saugerties, New York Saugerties () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in the northeastern corner of Ulster County, New York, Ulster County, New York (state), New York. The population was 19,038 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 C ...

. The concert was filmed for a documentary about Rollins, directed by Robert Mugge, before being released on record in November 1987 by Milestone Records. ''G-Man'' received positive reviews from critics, some of whom called it one of Rollins' best albums.

Background

The performances on ''G-Man'' were recorded on August 16, 1986, at Opus 40 in Saugerties, where Rollins performed an outdoor concert with an ensemble that featured trombonist Clifton Anderson, bass player Bob Cranshaw, pianist

Mark Soskin Mark Samuel Soskin (born 1953) is an American jazz pianist based in New York City. Discography As leader * ''Rhythm Vision,'' Prestige (1980); * ''Overjoyed,'' Jazz City (1991); * ''Views From Here,'' King (1992); * ''Calypso & Jazz Arou ...

, and drummer

Marvin "Smitty" Smith Marvin "Smitty" Smith (born June 24, 1961) is an American jazz drummer and composer. Marvin Smith was born in Waukegan, Illinois, where his father, Marvin Sr., was a drummer. "Smitty" was exposed to music at a young age, receiving formal musica ...

. The concert was originally filmed for ''Saxophone Colossus'', Robert Mugge's documentary on Rollins. Some tenor saxophone parts were recorded in studio on April 9, 1987, and

overdubbed Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

onto the track "Kim", and ''G-Man'' was released in November of that year by Milestone Records.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', Robert Christgau wrote that Rollins' ensemble sounds inspired by his innovative and radical saxophone playing on ''G-Man'', which he called "jazz for rock-and-rollers to cut their teeth on. It's exciting, fun, a gas, all that stuff great rock and roll is supposed to be and so rarely is these days." Larry Hollis of ''

Cadence Magazine ''Cadence: The Independent Journal of Creative Improvised Music'' is a quarterly review of jazz, blues and improvised music. The magazine covers a range of styles, from early jazz and blues to the avant-garde. Critic and historian Bob Rusch fo ...

'' said it is the most satisfying record from Rollins' tenure at Milestone and highlighted the title track, calling it "an exhaustive steamroller that will stand up to return listens" because of how Rollins maintains interest with a variety of techniques and sounds: "Jagged lines breaking up smoother passages, random squeals, whinnies and shakes drawn from the honking R&B history book or dropping down into the cellar for some low register long tones sometimes split into quick octave leaps". Christgau later named it the best album of 1987 in his list for the annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

critics poll, and in 1990 he named it the fourth-best album of the 1980s. In a retrospective review for ''

Wondering Sound eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of MP3 tracks per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquartered in New York Cit ...

'', journalist Fred Kaplan cited ''G-Man'' as one of Rollins' greatest records and expressed amazement at his solos and strong rapport with the band, calling their music "head spinning". According to jazz critic

Gary Giddins Gary Giddins is an American jazz critic and author. He wrote for ''The Village Voice'' from 1973; his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003. In 1986 Gary Giddins and John Lewis created the American Jazz Orchestra which presented concerts using a ...

, the album was Rollins' "ultimate statement on the middle ground he sought between traditional constraints and

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

—a disciplined howl of joy that seemed to steady him for the inevitable task of building a postfusion repertory". Jazz historian Scott Yanow was more reserved in his praise, writing in a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

that Rollins is "in good form, saying little that it is new but delivering passionate messages with his typical spirit".

Track listing

All compositions by Sonny Rollins, except where noted # "G-Man" - 15:19 # "Kim" - 5:58 # "Don't Stop the Carnival" (Traditional; arranged by Rollins) - 11:18 # "Tenor Madness" - 12:01 (CD only)

Personnel

* Sonny Rollins –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

* Clifton Anderson –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Bob Cranshaw –

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

– drums

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1987 live albums Sonny Rollins live albums Milestone Records live albums