HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Way Out West'' is a 1957 album by
Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...
with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, neither of whom had previously played or recorded with Rollins. The music employs a technique called "strolling", used here by Rollins for the first time, in which he would solo over only bass and drums with no pianist or guitarist playing chords. The reissue of the CD has additional takes of three of the songs, including the title track. These additional takes are all about twice as long, containing much longer solos from all three members of the band. According to the liner notes by producer Lester Koenig, recording began at 3:00 a.m. to fit the musicians' busy schedules, but " 7 a.m., after four hours of intense concentration, during which they recorded half the album, and should have been exhausted, Sonny said, 'I'm hot now.' Shelly who had been up for 24 hours, said, 'Man, I feel like playing.' And Ray, who was equally tired and had a studio call for the afternoon, just smiled." The cover photo was taken by celebrated jazz photographer William Claxton. Rollins stands amid a stretch of desert vegetation, dressed in a Stetson hat, gun belt, and empty holster, and holds his saxophone at waist level as if it were a pistol. The photo concept was Rollins' own idea to celebrate his first trip West.


Reception

In his
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
review, Scott Yanow wrote: "The timeless ''Way out West'' established Sonny Rollins as jazz's top tenor saxophonist (at least until
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
surpassed him the following year). Joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Rollins is heard at one of his peaks."


Track listing

# " I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)" (
Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...
) – 5:42 # "
Solitude Solitude, also known as social withdrawal, is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may wo ...
" (
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
) – 7:52 # "Come, Gone" (Sonny Rollins) – 7:53 # " Wagon Wheels" ( Peter DeRose) – 10:11 # " There Is No Greater Love" ( Isham Jones) – 5:17 # "Way Out West" (Rollins) – 6:30


CD reissue

:When the album was reissued on CD in 1988 (and in subsequent years), some alternate takes were included. # "I'm an Old Cowhand" (Mercer) – 5:40 # "I'm an Old Cowhand" lternate Take– 10:06 # "Solitude" (Ellington) – 7:49 # "Come, Gone" (Rollins) – 7:50 # "Come, Gone" lternate Take– 10:27 # "Wagon Wheels" (DeRose) – 10:09 # "There Is No Greater Love" (Jones) – 5:14 # "Way Out West" (Rollins) – 6:28 # "Way Out West" lternate Take– 6:36 The 20-bit CD issue groups the alternate takes at the end.


Personnel

*
Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...
-
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 (whi ...
* Ray Brown -
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
* Shelly Manne -
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way Out West (Album) 1957 albums Sonny Rollins albums Contemporary Records albums Original Jazz Classics albums