A Tribute That Couldn't Quite Land
High-level playing that reminds you these musicians could do almost anything, almost perfectly.
Rollins Plays for Bird arrived in 1957 as a straightforward homage — Sonny Rollins leading a quintet through material associated with Charlie Parker, the saxophonist who had reshaped jazz a decade earlier. By this point in his career, Rollins was already a major voice, but he wasn't yet the towering figure he'd become. This album sits in an interesting place: it's not a turning point or a departure, just a solid session that sounds exactly like what it is.
The session pairs Rollins with Kenny Dorham on trumpet, Wade Legge on piano, George Morrow on bass, and Max Roach on drums. On paper, that's a strong band. The music here is cleanly played and often swinging, but there's something missing in how it all fits together. AllMusic reviewer Michael G. Nastos called it "a disappointment in terms of the division of labor, and not the merging of titans jazz lovers would have wished for," though he acknowledged the recording still delivered "a great deal of high level music." The problem isn't technical — these players know what they're doing. It's more that the album doesn't create the sense of discovery or real conversation you'd hope for from such a lineup tackling Parker's legacy.
This isn't a starting point for Rollins; you'd want Saxophone Colossus (1956) or his work with Miles Davis for that. It's also not a peak. But it's worth hearing if you're already familiar with Rollins and curious about how he approached Parker's material, or if you simply want to hear Dorham and Roach in a straightforward setting. Sometimes a session is just competent and honest without being essential, and that's what you get here.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Kenny Dorham
All 31 albums →
The musicians on this record
Way Out West 1957
Sonny Rollins
plays tenor saxophone here
plays tenor saxophone here
Deeds, Not Words 1958
Max Roach
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
Jam Session 1954
George Morrow
plays bass here
plays bass here
