CONTEMPORARY LEADERS

Personnel: Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone); Victor Feldman (vibraphone); Hampton Hawes (piano); Barney Kessel (guitar); Leroy Vinnegar (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).
Recorded at Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, California from October 20-22, 1958. Originally released on Contemporary (7564). Includes liner notes by Lester Koenig.
Personnel: Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone); Victor Feldman (vibraphone); Hampton Hawes (piano); Barney Kessel (guitar); Leroy Vinnegar (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).
Recorded at Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, California from October 20-22, 1958. Originally released on Contemporary (7564). Includes liner notes by Lester Koenig.
Digitally remastered by Steve Hoffman.
Personnel: Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone); Victor Feldman (vibraphone); Hampton Hawes (piano); Barney Kessel (guitar); Leroy Vinnegar (bass); Shelly Manne (drums).
Recorded at Contemporary's Studio, Los Angeles, California from October 20-22, 1958. Originally released on Contemporary (7564). Includes liner notes by Lester Koenig.
Digitally remastered by JVC using XRCD (Extended Resolution Compact Disc) technology.
While the personnel on this release were leaders in their own right and contemporaries of Rollins in 1958, the title refers to the fact that the musicians were all recording with their own respective groups for the west coast Contemporary label at the time this album was made. The material is essentially standards, favorites of either the swing or the bop era. "How High The Moon" gets a trio treatment, with Rollins taking his time over the taut accompaniment provided by Kessel and Vinnegar; their bass and guitar given room to stretch out as well.
Hampton Hawes' opening on "Alone Together" is lithe, muscular and spare. Rollins doesn't even enter to solo until after choruses by Hawes and Kessell, giving things a friendly, jam-session atmosphere. Manne lays out on "In The Chapel In The Moonlight," on which the tenorist waxes lyrical to the sure-footed, understated accompaniment of piano, bass and guitar. The presence of these layered, intriguing arrangements makes this record more than a simple all-star blowing date.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Jazz
• Released: 9/09/2011