Tenor Madness is a 1956 jazz album by Sonny Rollins, released on Prestige. It is best known for its title track, Tenor Madness, which is the only known recording that features both Rollins and John Coltrane. The long title piece is a 12-minute showcase fueled by a hard bop rhythm section drawn from Miles Davis’s group, with Coltrane appearing only on the title track. The session was recorded on May 24, 1956 at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, and the album was released in October 1956. The personnel on the date includes Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Other tracks on the album are When Your Lover Has Gone, Paul’s Pal, My Reverie, and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. The tune Tenor Madness uses a melody that traces back to Kenny Clarke’s 1946 piece Royal Roost, and it remains a landmark recording that helped establish Rollins and, in a famous duet, Coltrane as major voices in modern jazz.
