As jazz critic Bob Blumenthal’s informed liner notes remind us, when it was rumored in 1961 that saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins was about to emerge from his two-year exile a bidding war among record labels ensued. RCA Victor won the battle signing Rollins to a six-album record deal. This two-disc CD compiles cuts from these 1962-1964 sessions that are found on such worthy albums such as The Bridge, What’s New and Sonny Meets Hawk! Listening to this grouping of selections in one bite puts the listener in the seats of those jazz fans who, after much anticipation, heard the tenor man back in action. Rollins celebrated his 75th birthday on September 7, 2005 and continues to mightily perform some of these tunes like “Don’t Stop the Carnival” and “St. Thomas.” He chose, probably to the surprise of many, to feature guitarist Jim Hall on his initial 1962 release. The results on Rollins’ “The Bridge” and classics such as “If Ever I Would Leave You,” proved the saxophonist and guitarist to be a brilliant pairing. Ditto, of course, can be said of his teaming with fellow saxophone giant Coleman Hawkins. Rollins’ bands were a who’s who of the energized and innovative jazz era of the early 1960s – names like bassist Bob Cranshaw, drummers Ben Riley and Billy Higgins, pianist Herbie Hancock and cornetist Don Cherry, to name a few. They turned the many standards heard here like “All the Things You Are” upside down and inside out. Essential is a word often thrown around in the titles of compilation discs. In describing this CD set, however, it’s not an exaggeration. Most enthusiasts undoubtedly have this material in their collections but or those who sadly lost precious albums in Katrina or younger listeners ready to dig into Rollins’ earlier works, this package works.