![Saxophone Colossus cover](https://images.theshfl.com/4684793610502144_600.jpg)
Saxophone Colossus
Released
Sonny Rollins could change your life from the stage, but his albums rarely scaled the same heights. This one, recorded in 1956 with pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Max Roach, is truly exceptional, a landmark in 1950s jazz. The band swings hard, even on the ballad “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” and Rollins’ solos have the thoughtfulness and structural logic of architectural blueprints. The calypso-tinged opener, “St. Thomas,” became his signature piece — he played it almost every night until retiring from live performance in 2012.