Sonny Rollins: The Freedom Suite

"The Freedom Suite" is a monument that fully belongs to the history of African-American music. It is not the first trio piece by Rollins but it's the longest neither the first tune of his where he shows social/political concerns, but it stands as a particularly bold statement. The simple melodic structure of the suite's movements and the invention that Rollins, Pettiford and Roach display on this minimal basis make it hard to imagine anybody but these three giants reproducing this miracle. Hence the uniqueness of this master- work, which few have dared to interpret in the intervening years. But little wonder that among those few is David S. Ware, a tenor player and former protégé of the "saxophone colossus."