"Be your own critic" is Sonny Rollins' maxim. Unfortunately he is a very sharp and severe critic. In the past, this resulted in a few long periods of absence, in which the saxophonist took the time for mental reconsideration and to study hard. This high degree of self-criticism also means that Rollins is almost never satisfied with his own performance and hates recordings of his playing. It is
… therefore very special that there is now a CD with live recordings of the 'Saxophone Colossus', selected by the master himself. We should be happy that at the age of 78 he finally gets a bit milder and lets us share in his enormous archive of concert tapes. Road Shows contains seven songs, recorded from 1980-2007. It really only revolves around one thing: Rollins' great game. With his powerful sound, his energetic playing and his adventurous improvisations, he completely controls the music. The CD was given the series designation Volume 1. Hopefully many more will follow! (HB)more
