Sonny Rollins: Soundtrack

With the coronavirus forcing most people around the globe indoors, the lockdown has given us a chance to listen to music with more care and gratitude. While writing yesterday, I pulled nine recordings by Sonny Rollins that, when assembled, become the thematic soundtrack for this new age of sheltering in place:

Here's Time on My Hands from 1951...



Here's The Scene Is Clean, featuring Sonny with the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet in 1956...



Here's Sonny's Pent-up House in 1956 on his Plus 4 album...



Here's Sonny playing The House I Live In in 1956 from his album Plays for Bird...



Here's Kenny Dorham with Sonny Rollins playing La Villa in 1957 from Dorham's album Jazz Contrasts...



Here's Sonny playing The Blue Room in 1965 from his album On Imuplse!...



Here's Sonny playing Playin' in the Yard in 1972 from his album Next Album...



Here's Sonny playing A House Is Not a Home in 1974 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, recorded live on The Cutting Edge...



And here's Sonny playing Keep Hold of Yourself live in 1996 in Paris on Holding the Stage: Road Shows, Vol 4...