Jazz Articles about Sonny Rollins

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Sonny Rollins Quartet: Tenor Madness

by J Hunter
November 13, 2006

He wasn't scheduled to play, but John Coltrane had his axe in hand when he came to watch Miles Davis' rhythm section record with Sonny Rollins. Trane not only played on the date, but the resulting duet is the centerpiece of Tenor Madness, one in Prestige's latest series of RVG-remastered releases.

Theoretically, Coltrane's appearance on the title track should be legendary--Saxophone Colossus meets Interstellar Space, in a way. However, this was 1956: Kind of Blue was still three ...

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Sonny Rollins: The Essential Sonny Rollins: The RCA Years

by George Kanzler
September 24, 2006

Sonny Rollins' worst enemy is Sonny Rollins. The recorded Rollins can never compete with the “live Rollins. The tenor saxophonist can blow you away in concert, at least if you're lucky--and more times than not you will be, since there are tens of thousands of jazz fans and scores of critics out there who have had the epiphany of hearing Rollins in person. So let's not fight it. Let's just admit that nothing on record compares to ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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. ...

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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 ...

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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 ...