When Your Lover Has Gone (Sonny Rollins’s version)

Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass) and Philly Joe Jones (drums). Extraído del álbum Tenor Madness (1956).

Red Garland was an American jazz pianist known for his work with Miles Davis in the 1950s and for his use of chord block style when playing the piano. In this style, both hands play each note of the melody, there is no separation between the melody of the right hand and the accompaniment of the left hand. It’s a technique that produces a lot of sound outside the piano, so it is ideal for playing at the height of a solo. After World War II he played in Boston, Philadelphia and New York.

He gained recognition in 1954 when he became a member of the Miles Davis Quintet, along with John Coltrane, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. With them he recorded the famous albums Workin’, Steamin’, Cookin’ and Relaxin’. He also played with Miles’s group on the albums ‘Round About Midnight and Milestones before leaving them and forming his own trio until he stopped playing in 1976. He died in 1984 of a heart attack at the age of 60.

The theme begins with Chambers playing a short double bass walking and the later entrance of the rest of the group. Rollins is supported by the walking while playing the melody and then continues with his solo in a relaxed way. Then Garland appears playing the piano uninterruptedly in a subtle and refined way. Afterwards Chambers makes his solo with quick, separate phrases. Suddenly Jones sounds with a series of blows alerting of his presence and performs a somewhat chaotic solo. To finish, Rollins delights in the re-exposure of the theme.