Sonny Rollins was only 26 years old when he recorded this, his first Riverside album, but he was an eight-year veteran of the jazz big leagues. He had worked with Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Group, among others. His style, personal and eccentric but deeply rooted in the jazz tradition and in American popular song, made him the most talked-about young tenor saxophonist in the mid-1950s. Like all great jazz improvisers, he communicated through his instrument in a way that made listeners feel he was speaking to them. The stories he told were delivered with energy, swing and wry good humor. He gave the layman a frame of reference by using familiar material like the standard songs here for explorations full of excitement and adventure. Supported by a blue-ribbon rhythm section, this is young Sonny Rollins at his best.

1. The Last Time I Saw Paris 
2. Just in Time 
3. Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye 
4. What Is There to Say? 
5. Dearly Beloved 
6. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye 
7. Cutie 
8. It Could Happen to You 
9.  Mangos 
10. Funky Hotel Blues