Sonny Rollins. His evolution as a musician has been legendary, his innovations have been milestones of the form. I can't really think of any sax players currently on the scene who don't owe some aspect of their style to Sonny Rollins.

I thought I would play some of his earlier material, when he was actively exploring bop and a couple years away from his first transformation.

This is from an album he recorded for Prestige Records with The Modern Jazz Quartet. The Stopper is from a session cut on October 7, 1953.

Glimpses of things to come.