Sonny Rollins: Holding the Stage: Road Shows Vol 4 review – phenomenal stamina

Since the turn of the century, when he reached age 70, Sonny Rollins has recorded many of his concerts, and since 2008 he’s been dipping into them for release on his own label, Doxy Records. This is the fourth album in the series, mostly taken from performances around Europe. Wilful, peremptory, restless, unique – Rollins can’t really be judged by any standards but his own, and he’s never satisfied. Some of his ideas are riveting, others sound quite mad, but what you hear is his extraordinary mind working at full stretch. Admittedly, it doesn’t work at quite the epic length of former times. The tenor saxophone is a physically demanding instrument, but at 85 his stamina is phenomenal.