Sonny Rollins Plus 4
The tenor saxophonist is listed as the leader, butSonny Rollins Plus Fouris nothing other than the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet recording for a different label (Prestige rather than Emarcy) in 1956 mere months before Brown's tragic death at age 25 in a car crash. One of the great ensembles in jazz history, the Quintet shows its inventiveness and rhythmic daring were at their peak in such numbers as "Valse Hot" and Rollins's "Pent-Up House." The only flaw of the 32-minute album is that it--like Clifford Brown's life--is too short.--David Horiuchi