The joy, the pizazz, the sheer transporting thrill of hearing the master play through as many choruses of the careworn tune as he can muster in a breath-defying 12 minutes or so of continuous invention, defied both logic and, it would seem, nature.
The witty sidelong quotes from show tunes - the quotes from quotes even - the constant shifting of emphasis from phrase to phrase and the intricate filigree that decorated every single unit of sound, watermarking each consonant of breath with an authoritative personal signature, while still keeping the unstoppable flow coming coming coming, lapping over us like a tidal wave of beneficent power, was something to see and hear.
If Rollins is like this now, you thought, what was he like in his true pomp? Never the creature of any one record label, Rollins' recording career had inevitable ups and downs, but seen live, he was unimpeachably great.
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