Songs for Insomniacs 44: Sonny Rollins, “You Don’t Know What Love Is”

For the first 2 minutes, Rollins — one of the great improvisers — sticks close to the melody of this torch song. After that, he travels all over, but never too far from the theme. When Rollins returns to the melody in the last minute, the listener is so transformed that the song sounds like a strange song in a strange land.

If you want to know what jazz is, this is one of the quintessential performances.

Songs for Insomniacs Playlist