A Night at the Village Vanguard

A Night at the Village Vanguard
Live album by Sonny Rollins
Released	1957
Recorded	November 3, 1957
Genre	Bop Hard bop
Label	Blue Note/EMI
Sonny Rollins chronology
Newk's Time (1957) A Night at the Village Vanguard (1957) Sonny Side Up (1957)

A Night at the Village Vanguard is an album by Sonny Rollins.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow writes "This CD is often magical. Sonny Rollins, one of jazz's great tenors, is heard at his peak... Not only did Rollins have a very distinctive sound, but his use of time, his sly wit, and his boppish but unpredictable style were completely his own by 1957.".^[1] Music critic Robert Christgau highly praised the album, writing "Rollins is charged with venturing far out from these tunes without severing the harmonic moorings normally secured by a piano. He does it again and again—but not without a certain cost in ebullience, texture, and fullness of breath. Impressive always, fun in passing, his improvisations are what avant-garde jazz is for."^[2] The album was identified by Scott Yanow in his Allmusic essay "Hard Bop" as one of the 17 Essential Hard Bop Recordings.^[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	A− [2]

Track listing

• Original Album:

1. "Old Devil Moon"
2. "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise"
3. "Striver's Row"
4. "Sonnymoon for Two"
5. "A Night in Tunisia"
6. "I Can't Get Started"

• Double CD Re-issue (presented in chronological recording order):

1. "A Night in Tunisia"(Afternoon Take)
2. "I've Got You Under My Skin"(Afternoon)
3. "A Night in Tunisia"(Evening Take)
4. "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise"
5. "Four"
6. "Woody 'n' You"
7. "Old Devil Moon"
8. "What Is This Thing Called Love?"
9. "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise"
10. "Sonnymoon for Two" (Rollins)
11. "I Can't Get Started"
12. "I'll Remember April"
13. "Get Happy"
14. "Striver's Row" (Rollins)
15. "All The Things You Are"
16. "Get Happy"

Personnel

• Sonny Rollins – tenor saxophone
• Don Bailey – double bass (afternoon set)
• Pete LaRoca – drums (afternoon set)
• Wilbur Ware – double bass (evening set)
• Elvin Jones – drums (evening set)

References