Jazz Articles about Sonny Simmons

Sonny Simmons: Jewels

by Robert R. Calder
March 23, 2005

Sonny Simmons arrived as a performer over forty years ago. He's not the last man to tell you he hasn't had his due, following bad times on the old “young man with a horn" stereotype. As with Mark Twain, “reports of his death were... exaggerated," but they did Simmons harm. The good news of his being back was preceded by grim times away.

Simmons' past partner, flautist Prince Lasha, should be listed as co-composer of “Music Matador," a ...

Sonny Simmons: Jewels

by Javier AQ Ortiz
February 18, 2005

Inspired by the works of Charlie Parker, Vincent Van Gogh, Sigurd Rasher, and Eric Dolphy, saxophonist Sonny Simmons recorded Jewels at a California home in 1991.

Simmons' best-known composition, “Music Matador,"? initiates the recording. It was originally featured on an Eric Dolphy recording, and in a recent AAJ interview Simmons affirms that it is his, rather than a co-composition with Prince Lasha, as commonly credited. Other musicians, including Jane Bunnett and Paul Bley, have recorded it since Dolphy ...

Sonny Simmons: Jewels

by Clifford Allen
February 4, 2005

Solo saxophone recordings (and, for that matter, solo recordings in general) offer more than just a glimpse into the process of self-composing, of testing material and approaches to sound as well as getting into the nature of the instrument. Though it lacks the sparring that begets improvisation (for that reason, Derek Bailey prefers to call it “solo playing"), unaccompanied work offers its own kind of spontaneity and thrill. Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton, and Joe McPhee have contributed greatly to the ...

Sonny Simmons: Jewels

by Mark Corroto
December 19, 2004

Note to self (that's you): find the long out-of-print CD Ancient Ritual (Qwest, 1992) by the Sonny Simmons trio. That disc marked his first great comeback, this disc his second. Well, sort of.

Not that Sonny Simmons went anywhere. It is just that gaps in his recording career wipe him from our collective radar. He first appeared in the '60s and '70s with avant recordings on ESP and Arhoolie (recently reissued), then the silence until his return in ...

Re: Sonny Simmons

by AAJ Staff
September 5, 2004

For too long I have read Sonny Simmons' disingenuous remarks (see interview ) about the labels that go to bat for him and offer an uncompromised canvas for his artistry. In July, he refers to his current labels as “little outhouse labels with no distribution in Europe." I am familiar with those labels (i.e. since 2002: Boxholder, BleuRegard, Arhoolie, Marge)and they are not outhouse labels. And they do have availability in Europe as well as Japan, etc. In the past, ...

Sonny Simmons

by Clifford Allen
July 24, 2004

Alto saxophonist Sonny Simmons was born on Sicily Island, Louisiana. At a young age, he moved to Oakland, California with his family, bringing the budding musician into contact with touring musicians like Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker as well as local modernists. By the early '60s, Sonny had moved to LA to record and work with altoist Prince Lasha; in 1963 Simmons moved to New York to play and record with Eric Dolphy, Elvin Jones and other major figures in ...

Sonny Simmons/Michael Marcus/Jay Rosen: Cosmosamatics Three

by John Kelman
June 2, 2004

Music can be remarkably deceptive. By careful placement of instruments, a small ensemble can sound much larger; notes can be implied where none are found. And while space is clearly a fundamental with Sonny Simmons, Michael Marcus and Jay Rosen’s experimental group, Cosmosamatics, what is most conspicuous is how two saxophones and percussion create a compelling sound. It is not only full enough without the benefit of either a bass to hold down the bottom end or a chordal instrument ...