Fingerpoppin Vinyl & CDs

Review: Sonny Rollins' first live performance with Don Cherry, which took place at the Village Gate in Greenwich Village, NYC, in 1962, has long been talked about in hushed tones - in part because recordings of three tracks from the extended performance appeared on 1963's Our Man In Jazz LP. Now, for the first time, the entirety of that recording - with Rollins on tenor sax, Cherry on cornet, Bob Cranshaw on bass and Billy Higgins on drums -has been released. It's a beast, with over five hours of hard-bop and improv jazz stretched across six CDs. There are multiple takes and unedited versions of the tracks that appeared on Our Man In Jazz, plus tons of superb extended workouts, on-the-fly gems and energetic improvisations. In other words, it should be an essential purchase for all serious jazz fans.