Sonny Rollins - +3 (1996)

Okay, if you were planning on grousing about "those records Sonny makes for Milestone," you can forget it. +3 is great. As the title suggests, Rollins is supported by two different trios, with the lion's share of the work going to the Tommy Flanagan/Bob Cranshaw/Al Foster ensemble (Steven Scott and Jack DeJohnette spell Flanagan and Foster for two cuts). It's mostly a program of standards, and the tenorist stretches out in a most luxurious way, with the tunes clocking in at between six and twelve minutes. Of his two compositional contributions, one is based loosely on the changes to "I Got Rhythm," the other is essentially a blues. What we have here, then, is Sonny Rollins playing great material with two trios of his peers, allowing himself to investigate and improvise to the fullest (and no synths or disco grooves either). If you miss the Caribbean stuff, you can always check out SUNNY DAYS, STARRY NIGHTS or the SILVER CITY compilation.