The 1962 live engagement at the Village Gate marked Sonny Rollins' first recording ever with Don Cherry, as well as one of the earliest made by the saxophonist following his three-year long self-imposed musical exile. It was all recorded in a piano-less quartet format with Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums.
While only three tunes from the gig (Dearly beloved in a highly edited form) were included on the famous LP Our man in Paris, this 6-cd collection adds all existing music taped during those live sessions, totaling more than five hours of previously unreleased material in brilliant stereo sound.
Among the many highlights here are the unedited Dearly beloved (which is 10 minutes longer that the LP version), the issued Oleo with an extra minute at the beginning, Rollin's only known reading of Alexander's Ragtime Band, and Home sweet home, plus extended renditions of songs he only rarely recorded, such as Solitude and Love walked in.
- 1 -
1. Oleo #1 [Complete Unedited Version]
2. Untitled Original a #1
3. Doxy #1 /Love Walked In
4. Dearly Beloved[Originally Released Edited Version]
5. Doxy #2
- 2 -
1. Solitude
2. Oleo #2
3. St. Thomas
4. Home Sweet Home #1
- 3 -
1. Lover
2. Unidentified Ballad/Alexander's Ragtime Band Into Home Sweet
3. Dearly Beloved [Complete Unedited Version]
4. Oleo #3
- 4 -
1. Untitled Original B
2. Tempus Fugit
3. Untitled Original a #2
- 5 -
1. Untitled Original C
2. Untitled Original D
3. Untitled Original E Into Untitled Original a #3
- 6 -
1. Oleo #4
2. Three Little Words