****Frogman is evidently giving much thoughtful consideration to the link in question,****
Well, O-10, I am glad you look forward to my comments so much ☺️. Sorry to disappoint you; but, nah!, been getting our upstate digs ready for the winter. I did listen to that record while riding my tractor and mulching about five acres worth of Fall leaves.
Alex (and O-10, of course), I’ve had that record for many years. It’s an interesting record on a few counts. Hawkins was one of Rollins’ main influences; primarily in the area of tone. Rollins adopted Hawkins’ very muscular tone concept and is known to have admired Hawkins for an approach to improvisation which was (fasten your seatbelt, O-10) as Rollins himself is quoted as saying, more "intellectual" than other players’ of Hawkins’ generation.
These are/were two undisputed giants of the tenor saxophone. Hawkins is considered to have been the link between the great swing tenor players and the beboppers. His solo on his recording of "Body And Soul" is considered one of the all-time classic jazz solos; a groundbreaking solo that took improvisation from the very linear and traditionally melodic style of players like Lester Young to a new place of wider intervals and more "intellectual" outlining of chord changes, a style that reached full expression years later in John Coltrane.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zUFg6HvljDESonny Rollins, while retaining the husky tone style of Hawkins got rid of much of the breathiness (subtone) in the sound and the tendency to end every phrase with very obvious and wide vibrato; both, telltale signs that a player is coming out of the swing tradition. He further took the harmonic vocabulary to a whole other place with a much more extended harmonic approach (playing outside the more traditional chord structure) for a far more interesting harmonic palette. He also uses a lot of humor in his playing with phrasing and rhythmic choices that sound downright silly at times. At one point (22:57) in "Just Friends" ("Old Friends"??) he quotes "How Are Things In Glocca Morra" (from the Broadway musical Finian’s Rainbow) of all things; but, as a mark of his genius, makes it work. As I said, I find the record interesting, there is a lot of great playing and there is undeniable charm in Rollins paying homage to one of his heroes. However, I don’t find the record particularly enjoyable.
Much has been made of Hawkins’ ability to play in a modern style or a more modern setting; I’m not so sure. Listen to "Body And Soul"; it is an absolute gem. That’s the style that Hawkins plays best and sounds most credible in with a rhythm section that is also in that stylistic frame of mind. He can sound exciting in some ways playing an uptempo tune like "Just Friends", but....there’s something not quite right. He was, in his heart of hearts, a great swing and ballad player. There is sometimes a kind of stylistic disconnect between the rhythm section and Hawkins. Likewise, when Rollins follows Hawkins, the rhythm section doesn’t switch gears and Rollins’ stylistic quirkiness and humor can sometimes sound like a "bull in a china closet" with the rhythm section sounding like it is just keeping time and not interacting with what he is playing like they should. I suppose all this is relatively subtle; but, I prefer to hear each player in his own comfort zone. My favorite Sonny record:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E8vZLljjb58https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yLKv7vAKVMs
