Sonny Rollins – A Night at the Village Vanguard (6 tracks, 1958)

A Night at the Village Vanguard is a 6-track music release by Sonny Rollins. It was released in 1958.

This legendary live hard bop album by tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins—often hailed as one of the greatest jazz recordings ever—was captured on November 3, 1957, at New York City's iconic Village Vanguard, marking the club's first-ever live album. Boldly performing in a piano-less trio format, Rollins is joined primarily by bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Elvin Jones (with Donald Bailey on bass and Pete La Roca on drums for two afternoon tracks).

The session showcases Rollins at his creative peak, delivering extended, thematic improvisations on standards and originals with boundless energy, wit, and harmonic invention. Standouts include blistering takes on "A Night in Tunisia," "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise," and his own "Sonnymoon for Two." Rudy Van Gelder's engineering captures the intimate club atmosphere perfectly, influencing countless live jazz albums since.

Later expansions (like the 1999/2024 Complete editions) include all sets, but the original remains a concise masterpiece of freedom and swing.

Tracklist (original LP):

  1. A Night in Tunisia (afternoon)
  2. I've Got You Under My Skin
  3. A Night in Tunisia (evening)
  4. Softly As in a Morning Sunrise (evening)
  5. Four
  6. Woody 'n' You (Additional tracks on Volume 2: Old Devil Moon, What Is This Thing Called Love, Softly As in a Morning Sunrise (afternoon), Sonnymoon for Two, etc.)

An essential for any jazz collection—Rollins redefines the tenor here!

Here are the links (in Markdown format for easy copy-paste):

(Note: Streaming often features the remastered or complete versions; a 2024 Tone Poet reissue offers the full masters.)



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