Trumpeter Charles Tolliver (b. 1942) made his first record It's Time in 1964 with alto saxophonist Jackie McLean. He subsequently worked with such legends as Max Roach, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock and Art Blakey. His first full-length album as a bandleader, Paper Man, was released in 1968. Over the years, he emerged as a creative composer, arranger and bandleader who prefers to do his own thing rather than desperately seek attention. As a result, he was invisible for a while. That changed 1998, when – together with original bassist Reggie Workman – he recreated John Coltrane's legendary 1961 album Africa/Brass. The original arrangements by alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy and pianist McCoy Tyner had been lost in a fire. In 2011, the work was performed again (to mark the album’s 50th anniversary) and now the sensational Africa/Brass will also be heard in Rotterdam, played by the New Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra.
