Sonny Rollins - A Night At The Village Vanguard (The Complete Masters) (2024) Hi Res

Blue Note Records release Sonny Rollins A Night at the Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters, a special Tone Poet Edition of the legendary saxophonist’s tour-de-force live trio album. The expanded set marks the first time Rollins’ complete recorded performances at the Village Vanguard on November 3, 1957 will be made available in a single package.

Produced for release by Joe Harley, the album is mastered directly from Rudy Van Gelder’s newly discovered and never-before-used original 7.5ips master tapes by Kevin Gray.

“I am thrilled with how this special edition of Sonny’s Village Vanguard masterpiece turned out. For years, I had seen the famous photo of Rudy Van Gelder and Alfred Lion at this gig which showed a very visible Ampex 601 portable tape deck. I had always thought that perhaps it had been there as a safety to Rudy’s big 15ips Ampex deck, but then it hit me: Of course he didn’t bring the big, heavy pro deck downstairs at the Vanguard… how would you even get it down the stairs! Rudy had taken the 7.5ips tapes back to his studio and transferred them to his main 15ips deck to then be assembled and readied for mastering. So, thanks to the first-time use of the actual master tapes and a trove of newly discovered photos, you now have the best seat in the house!” - Joe Harley