Tour de Force (Sonny Rollins album)

Tour de Force is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins containing his final recordings for the Prestige label. Rollins performed with Kenny Drew, George Morrow, and Max Roach, with vocals by Earl Coleman on two tracks.^[2]

Tour de Force
Studio album by Sonny Rollins
Released	March 1958[1]
Recorded	December 7, 1956 Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey
Genre	Jazz
Length	41:40
Label	Prestige PR 7126
Producer	Bob Weinstock
Sonny Rollins chronology
Rollins Plays for Bird (1956) Tour de Force (1958) Sonny Boy (1956)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[5]

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "Rollins was in consistently creative form during this prime period but the overall set is not as classic as most of the tenor's other recordings from the 1950s."^[3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz describes it as being "almost as good as Colossus, with the ferocious abstractions of 'B Swift' and 'B Quick' contrasting with the methodical, almost surgical destruction of 'Sonny Boy'."^[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Sonny Rollins except as indicated

1. "Ee-Ah" – 6:52
2. "B. Quick" – 9:13
3. "Two Different Worlds" (Al Frisch, Sid Wayne) – 7:37
4. "B. Swift" – 5:15
5. "My Ideal" (Newell Chase, Leo Robin, Richard A. Whiting) – 4:21
6. "Sonny Boy" (Lew Brown, Buddy DeSylva, Ray Henderson, Al Jolson) – 8:22 Bonus track on CD rerelease

Personnel

• Sonny Rollins – tenor saxophone
• Kenny Drew – piano
• George Morrow – bass
• Max Roach – drums
• Earl Coleman – vocals (tracks 3 & 5)