Critic's Review
Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Sonny Rollins issued only three albums on the Impulse! label, all of them recorded between 1965 and 1966. This volume in The Impulse Story series features three tracks each from Sonny Rollins on Impulse!, Alfie (the music included consists of re-recorded titles he wrote for the score), and East Broadway Run Down. These three albums feature Rollins in a number of settings. The numbers from Alfie were recorded with a ten-piece band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. The On Impulse! tunes were recorded with ace drummer Mickey Roker, pianist Ray Bryant, and bassist Walter Booker. East Broadway Run Down features the great saxophonist in the company of Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, and Freddie Hubbard on the title track. What they all reveal is an artist at the absolute top of his game as an improviser and as a composer. Rollins' star may have shone differently from Coltrane's during these years, but just as brightly. The standout cuts on this set are the the standard "On Green Dolphin Street," "Alfie's Theme," and the stunning 20-plus-minute "East Broadway Run Down," with Rollins blowing further out than he ever had on one of his own records.
