Way Out West

Rate It! Avg: 4.5 (94 ratings)

We’re sorry. This album is unavailable for download in your country (United States) at this time.

Way Out West album cover
Album Information
EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 9   Total Length: 70:41

Write a Review 7 Member Reviews

Please register before you review a release. Register

user avatar

Jovial invention

rene.leemans

Rollins continued his astonishing run of records with scarcely a pause of breath. A visit to Los Angeles paired him with Brown and Manne on this session which, if it occasionally dips into a kind of arch cleverness, features some superb interplay between the three men, with Rollins turning 'I'm An Old Cowhand' into a jovial invention.

user avatar

Cool

lodos

I agree with 'mailman'; this is one of his best from the period he is most revered for. Unlike other sessions cut in the late fifties this one verges on the cool rather than the eloquent, possibly due to Shelley Mann. It is nevertheless one of those I play regularly.

user avatar

Get it!

Dan_J

My favourite Rollins album. 'Come, Gone' is a classic, a tour de force of melodic, searching sax playing. Recommended.

user avatar

Great!

jman_234

This is my favorite sonny rollins album. Its great!

user avatar

Great Rollins

FrSteve

Sonny Rollins has always been one of the most inventive improvisers. He is suitably stretched by this great Trio. Definitely one of his best records

user avatar

Should Be A Pick

Dhfalcon

This album has a great feel. It remains one of my favorite 3am cd's, which shouldn't be surprising since it was recorded in the early, early am. This was Sonny's first visit and recording in the west. He recreates a vivid sense of the west seen from the eyes of an east coaster with romantic imageries of the pioneer land. Yet, it IS jazz. wonderful jazz. Listen to 'Come, Gone' and revel in the tightness of the group, the fluency of Sonny's sax. This is one of the all-timers for Jazz music.

Recommended Albums

eMusic Features

0

Jazz for Non-Jazz Fans

By Kevin Whitehead, eMusic Contributor

No wonder some folks run from jazz, what with all that talk of "democracy in action" and "America's classical music" -- tags that don't suggest the sheer fun of, say, Sonny Rollins playing "I'm an Old Cowhand." Jazz can be good for you, but it's not medicine. It's a playground. Improvisation and swinging rhythm -- that infectious beat that propels the music forward -- are at the heart of jazz, and involve close listening on the… more »

They Say All Music Guide

The timeless Way out West established Sonny Rollins as jazz’s top tenor saxophonist (at least until John Coltrane surpassed him the following year). Joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Rollins is heard at one of his peaks on such pieces as “I’m an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande),” his own “Way out West,” “There Is No Greater Love,” and “Come, Gone” (a fast stomp based on “After You’ve Gone”). The William Claxton photo of Rollins wearing Western gear (and holding his tenor) in the desert is also a classic. [The Contemporary re-release appends three bonus tracks, all of them alternate takes.] – Scott Yanow