Home » Jazz Articles » Sonny Simmons
Jazz Articles about Sonny Simmons
The Cry!
by Richard J Salvucci
This recording is, at first glance, a bit of an unusual choice by Craft Recording for its Contemporary Records Acoustic Sound Series audiophile vinyl series. Neither Prince Lasha (pronounced Lashay) nor Sonny Simmons make an appearance in Bill Kirchner's The Oxford Companion to Jazz (Oxford University Press, 2000). An earlier reviewer for AAJ allowed as how both players were talented, but probably understood no more about Ornette Coleman's theory of “harmolodics" than the average listener did. Skepticism or, indeed, lack ...
Continue ReadingEric Dolphy: At Five Spot to Iron Man Revisited
by Alberto Bazzurro
Riunire in un unico CD di quasi ottanta minuti due capolavori cosa determina? Un capolavoro al quadrato, ovviamente, ed è quanto avviene in questo album semplicemente maestoso, i cui primi tre brani riprendono il live inciso al Five Spot il 16 luglio 1961 dal quintetto da favola riunito per l'occasione da Eric Dolphy, all'epoca trentatreenne, il cui nome iniziava finalmente a circolare con una certa insistenza nel mondo del jazz anche al di là dei colleghi che già ne conoscevano ...
Continue ReadingDave Holland Trio, Sonny Simmons, Astral Spirits & El Negocito Releases
by Maurice Hogue
There's something in this episode for just about everybody. You'll hear samples from the new Dave Holland trio project, some hard-nosed improv from new releases on the Astral Spirits label (including a re-release of Cleveland's legendary Vernacular Trio), a look through some releases from the interesting catalogue of Belgium's El Negocito Records, a walk down memory lane with Joe Farrell's Moon Germs, and a recognition of the great alto player, Sonny Simmons, who passed recently. Playlist Dave Holland ...
Continue ReadingSonny Simmons: Leaving Knowledge, Wisdom and Brilliance / Chasing the Bird?
by Eyal Hareuveni
American alto sax and English horn (Cor Anglais) player Sonny Simmons needs no introduction. Now 81 years old, Simmons was a key player in America's free jazz eruption in the 1960s. He released his first solo albums on ESP- Disk, the exponent label of free jazz and recorded or played with legendary musicians like Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler, Charles Mingus and Don Cherry. Since the seventies his musical career went through some turbulent phases. Fortunately, in ...
Continue ReadingThe Cosmosamatics: Jazz-Maalika
by Ian Patterson
The Cosmosamatics--an ever-evolving ensemble co-led by multi-reedists Sonny Simmons and Michael Marcus--was founded in 2000, though the seeds were arguably planted many years earlier. Half a century ago, Simmons was cutting his teeth with multi-reedists Prince Lasha, Eric Dolphy and others of the so-called free jazz movement. Marcus made his name in the avant/free circles of a later generation, so there was a natural symmetry to their eventual meeting in the early 1980s and subsequent collaborations. The Cosmosamatics has always ...
Continue ReadingSonny Simmons: Staying on the Watch
by AAJ Italy Staff
Questa ristampa di uno dei due LP incisi dal contraltista della Louisiana per la mitica ESP ci ripropone un free jazz d'annata, che dopo 44 anni non risulta per nulla invecchiato, capace tuttora di comunicare convinzione, urgenza espressiva, idee in quantità ed anche un buon livello tecnico. Staying on the Watch non è certo celebrato come un disco d'importanza storica, eppure riascoltato oggi fornisce l'ennesima conferma di quanto fosse elevato il livello medio del jazz degli anni Cinquanta e Sessanta. ...
Continue ReadingSonny Simmons: Staying on the Watch
by Jerry D'Souza
The sixties were a time of turmoil and invention. Jazz was cast into several shapes by musicians who were willing to take chances, were not afraid to go against the grain, and believed in their vision to fathom and articulate new territory. Alto saxophonist Sonny Simmons was among those who added to lore. He could fathom a cry of anguish just as easily as he could herald a shout of joy, as he created an ambience that spread its wings ...
Continue Reading
