The Bridge

THE JEAN-PIERRE LELOIR COLLECTION

180 PRE-VIRGIN VINYL LPs IN GATEFOLD PACKAGING

"The Bridge" marked Sonny Rollins’ first album after his three-year-long self-imposed musical exile. Living on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, he was often spotted on the nearby Williamsburg Bridge at night, deep in a rigorous practice session. “In 1959 I had a lot of acclaim”, explained the saxophonist, “but I wanted to improve my playing. It was that simple. I wanted to get better. I didn’t feel I was playing well enough; not as well as I wanted. So I stopped playing live for audiences. I stopped recording. And this is the, I guess, famous story that people know about me –you know The Bridge”. The album that represented Rollins’ comeback was all recorded in a piano-less quartet format, with Jim Hall on guitar, plus Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Ben Riley on drums (replaced by Harry T. Saunders on just one track).

PERSONNEL:

SONNY ROLLINS, tenor saxophone
JIM HALL, guitar
BOB CRANSHAW, bass
BEN RILEY, drums
HARRY T. SAUNDERS, drums (replaces Riley on B2 only)

New York, January 30 (B2), February 13 (A2, A3, B3) & February 14 (A1, B1), 1962.

SIDE A:

01 WITHOUT A SONG
02 WHERE ARE YOU?
03 JOHN S.

SIDE B:

01 THE BRIDGE
02 GOD BLESS THE CHILD
03 YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME