Jazz Articles about Sonny Rollins

Rudy Van Gelder Views Two Tenor Titans

by C. Michael Bailey
March 15, 2006

Rudy Van Gelder has had perhaps the greatest personal impact on jazz of anyone associated with the music without having blown a note himself. Van Gelder served as engineer on essentially all of the recordings made for Blue Note between 1953 and 1967. His engineering work did not stop with Blue Note. Van Gelder was sonically responsible for many more recordings released on both independent and major labels. He has been instrumental in the modern remastering of his original recordings ...

Sonny Rollins: Without a Song - The 9/11 Concert

by AAJ Italy Staff
February 5, 2006

[La mattina dell'11 settembre 2001 ero in banca e l'operatore fissava lo schermo del pc preoccupato dal crollo della borsa. Sembrava che un aereo si fosse schiantato contro una delle Torri Gemelle. Poi arrivarono le solite telefonate ansiose di madri e fidanzate che non aiutarono di molto la mia comprensione dei fatti. Ci pensò la televisione a fornirmi in diretta il quadro della tragedia. Due cose mi vengono in mente: i disperati che preferivano lanciarsi nel vuoto pur di non ...

Sonny Rollins: Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert

by Florence Wetzel
January 27, 2006

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Sonny Rollins was in his home, located six blocks from the World Trade Center. His evacuation the next day happened to be filmed by CNN. Despite the travel restrictions, Rollins and his band managed to make their September 15 gig at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston. Rollins was still shook up and unsure whether or not he should perform, but his stalwart wife Lucille convinced him to go on. ...

Sonny Rollins: Without a Song (The 9/11 Concert)

by George Harris
November 29, 2005

Where were you on 9/11? Sonny Rollins was in his New York apartment, six blocks away from the horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Persuaded by his wife to honor his commitment to perform, he delivered a magnificent and audibly moving concert at the Berklee Performing Arts Center four days later. Without a Song is his first live band recording since G-Man, and Rollins is palpably inspired as he embodies the feel of jazz.

Some men are saxophone ...

Sonny Rollins: The Essential Sonny Rollins: The RCA Years

by Jim Santella
November 16, 2005

Recorded in 1962-64, Sonny Rollins' RCA sessions encompassed six LPs and several tracks for a three-artist sampler album. This two-CD set, containing material selected from The Bridge, What's New?, Our Man in Jazz, Sonny Meets Hawk!, Now's the Time, The Standard Sonny Rollins, and 3 in Jazz, has been released to honor the jazz giant, who recently celebrated his 75th birthday.

Rollins was active with the forefathers of bebop from 1948 on. In '49, he started working with ...

Sonny Rollins is My Rabbi

by Bret Primack
September 20, 2005

I remember, quite well, the first time I met Sonny Rollins. It was in the fall of 1978, when I was writing for Down Beat. For a cover story, I traveled to his upstate New York home for an interview with the Saxophone Colossus. Over the years, I'd heard his music, both on recordings, and some remarkable performances. I'd also read all about this fellow and the more dramatic episodes of his life. Although he had a reputation ...

Sonny Rollins: Tanglewood 2005

by Scott H. Thompson
September 9, 2005

It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning in New England, while down South, New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, lay in ruin. Devastated by Hurricane Katrina. I made my way to a 9:15am church service, and then headed out onto the highway for another church service. The church of Sonny Rollins. Driving straight north through the center of Connecticut, take a left at the Massachusetts Turnpike, then a scenic drive west to the Berkshires and the Tanglewood Jazz ...