"Bass drum. High hat. A primal, hollow beat in triple succession. The sequence repeats, increasingly accentuated with quick rim shot bursts and precision hits to the tom. Then, stage set, the sax leaps in. A bright Caribbean calypso melody, its refrain only twelve notes long. Its vibrancy and simplicity give it an instantaneous appeal—fitting, given the song's roots in a nursery rhyme native to the Virgin Islands. ... Saxophone Colossus was cut just four days before the death of Clifford Brown, in whose outfit [Sonny] Rollins, following stints with Davis, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk, had been playing until that point, and whose co-leader, Max Roach, is the one delivering that memorable drum intro on 'St. Thomas' (George Morrow, the Brown/Roach bassist, will get a mention in a moment). ..."
All About Jazz
W - Saxophone Colossus
YouTube: Saxophone Colossus (Complete Album)
2012 September: The Singular Sound of Sonny Rollins, 2012 December: Village Vanguard, 2015 September: Rollins Plays for Bird (1957)
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