A Night At The "Village Vanguard"

By the time Sonny Rollins—the Saxophone Colossus—arrived at New York’s Village Vanguard on November 3, 1957, he had already recorded three Blue Note studio albums for Alfred Lion: Sonny Rollins, Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2 and Newk’s Time. That night, he recorded A Night at the Village Vanguard, his first live album and the first live recording made at the celebrated jazz club. Most of the album comes from the evening set, with Wilbur Ware on bass and Elvin Jones on drums; two tracks were recorded during the afternoon set with Donald Bailey on bass and Pete La Roca on drums.