Sonny Rollins
An early Rollins picture graces the cover of Volume One
Background information
Birth name	Theodore Walter Rollins
Born	September 7, 1930 (1930-09-07) (age 76)
Origin	New York, New York, United States
Genre(s)	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Saxophonist
Instrument(s)	Tenor saxophone
Label(s)	Prestige Records Impulse!
Associated acts	Jackie McLean, Max Roach, Clifford Brown

Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930 in New York City) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Sonny Rollins has had a long, productive career in jazz, beginning his career at the age of 11 and playing with piano legend Thelonious Monk before reaching the age of 20. Rollins is still touring and recording today, having outlived several of his jazz contemporaries such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Art Blakey, all performers with whom he recorded. Image File history File links Sonny Rollins, Volume One Album cover art, from http://www. ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... A saxophonist is a musician who plays the saxophone. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Prestige Records was a record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock (October 2, 1928–January 14, 2006). ... Impulse! Records is an American based jazz record label, originally launched in 1960 by Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records in New York City. ... John Lenwood (Jackie) McLean (born May 17, 1932) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator, born in New York City. ... Jazz in 3/4 time cover released in 1957 on EmArcy Maxwell Lemuel Roach (born January 10, 1924) is a percussionist, drummer, and jazz composer. ... Clifford Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... New York, New York redirects here. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... A saxophonist is a musician who plays the saxophone. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967), nicknamed Trane, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (26 May 1926 – 28 September 1991) was one of the most influential musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey (October 11, 1919–October 16, 1990), also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ...

Biography

Early days

Rollins started as a pianist, then changed to alto saxophone, finally switching to tenor in 1946. During his high school years, he played in a band with fellow future jazz legends Jackie McLean and Kenny Drew. He was first recorded in 1949 with Babs Gonzales; in the same year he recorded with J. J. Johnson and Bud Powell. In 1950, Rollins was arrested for armed robbery, given a sentence of three years, spending 10 months in Rikers Island before he was released on parole. He was rearrested in 1952 for violating the terms of his parole by using heroin. Rollins attended an institution for drug addicts in Lexington, Kentucky. He was given dolophine and was able to kick his habit entirely. Pianist Claudio Arrau, Carnegie Hall, 1954. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... John Lenwood (Jackie) McLean (born May 17, 1932) is an American jazz alto saxophonist and educator, born in New York City. ... Kenneth Sidney (Kenny) Drew (August 28, 1928 - August 4, 1993) was an American jazz pianist from New York City. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Babs Gonzales (b. ... J. J. Johnson, in about the mid-1960s J. J. Johnson (born James Louis Johnson) in Indianapolis, Indiana, (January 22, 1924 - elements of both classical and jazz music. ... The Amazing Bud Powell - early LP cover Earl Rudolph Bud Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966 in New York City) was one of the most influential pianists in the history of jazz. ... Robbery is the crime of seizing property through violence or intimidation. ... View of Rikers Island Rikers Island is the name of New York Citys largest jail facility, as well as the name of the 415 acre (1. ... Parole can have different meanings depending on the area and judiciary system. ... Heroin ((INN) Diacetylmorphine, (BAN) diamorphine) is an opioid synthesized directly from the extracts of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. ... Nickname: Location in the Commonwealth of Kentucky Coordinates: Country United States State Kentucky Counties Fayette Government  - Mayor Jim Newberry (D) Area  - City  285. ... Methadone is a synthetic opioid analgesic synthesized in 1937 by German scientists Max Bockmühl and Gustav Ehrhart at I.G. Farbenindustrie (Hoechst-Am-Main) who were searching for an analgesic that would be easier to use during surgery and also have low addiction potential. ...

Rollins had begun to make a name for himself as he recorded with Miles Davis in 1951 and Thelonious Monk in 1953. He joined the Clifford Brown–Max Roach quintet in 1955, and after Brown's death in 1956 worked mainly as a leader. Miles Dewey Davis III (26 May 1926 – 28 September 1991) was one of the most influential musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Clifford Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an influential and highly rated American jazz trumpeter. ... Jazz in 3/4 time cover released in 1957 on EmArcy Maxwell Lemuel Roach (born January 10, 1924) is a percussionist, drummer, and jazz composer. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

His most widely acclaimed album, Saxophone Colossus, was recorded on June 22, 1956, featuring Tommy Flanagan on piano, former Jazz Messengers bassist Doug Watkins and his favorite drummer Max Roach. This was only Rollins' third outing as a leader in the recording studio, but it was a date on which he recorded perhaps his best-known composition "St. Thomas", a Caribbean calypso based on a tune sung to him by his mother in his childhood: "St. Thomas is a song my mother used to sing, it is a traditional tune." Saxophone Colossus is one of Sonny Rollins most acclaimed albums. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Thomas Lee Flanagan (b. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey (October 11, 1919–October 16, 1990), also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... Douglas Watkins (1934 – 1962) was an American hard bop bassist. ... Jazz in 3/4 time cover released in 1957 on EmArcy Maxwell Lemuel Roach (born January 10, 1924) is a percussionist, drummer, and jazz composer. ... St. ... Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad at about the start of the 20th century. ...

John Coltrane was yet to become a major figure, and Rollins was the leading modern jazz saxophonist in America. In 1957 he pioneered the use of bass and drums (without piano) as accompaniment for his saxophone solos. This texture came to be known as "strolling". Two early recordings in this format are Way Out West (Contemporary, 1957) and A Night at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1957). Throughout his career, Rollins used the technique, even backing bass and drum solos with sax licks. John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967), nicknamed Trane, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ... For other article subjects named Jazz see jazz (disambiguation). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Way Out West is a 1957 album by Sonny Rollins. ... Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff. ...

By this time, Rollins had become well-known for taking relatively banal or unconventional material (such as "There's No Business Like Show Business" on Work Time, "I'm an Old Cowhand" on Way Out West, and later "Sweet Leilani" on the Grammy-winning CD This Is What I Do) and turning it into a vehicle for improvisation. He is quite well-known as a composer; a number of his tunes (including "St. Thomas", "Doxy", "Oleo" and "Airegin") have become standards. Oleo is a Bebop composition by Sonny Rollins, written in 1954. ... Airegin is a jazz standard composed by Sonny Rollins in 1954. ...

In 1958 Rollins recorded an extended piece for saxophone, bass and drums: The Freedom Suite. His original sleeve notes made it explicit that the piece was an intervention on the socio-political situation:

"How ironic that the Negro, who more than any other people can claim America's culture as his own, is being persecuted and repressed; that the Negro, who has exemplified the humanities in his very existence, is being rewarded with inhumanity."[1]

The LP was only briefly available in its original form, before the record company repackaged it as Shadow Waltz, the title of another piece on the record.

First sabbatical

By 1959, Rollins was frustrated with what he perceived as his own musical limitations and took the first – and most famous – of his musical sabbaticals. To spare a neighboring expectant mother the sound of his practice routine, Rollins ventured to the Williamsburg Bridge to practice. Upon his return to the jazz scene he named his "comeback" album The Bridge at the start of a contract with RCA Records. The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on Long Island at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (Interstate 278). ... RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony BMG Music Entertainment. ...

Throughout the 1960s Rollins remained one of the most adventurous musicians around. Each album he recorded differed radically from the previous one. Rollins explored Latin rhythms on What's New, tackled the avant-garde on Our Man in Jazz, and re-examined standards on Now's the Time. He also provided the soundtrack to the 1966 version of Alfie. His 1965 residency at Ronnie Scott's legendary jazz club has recently emerged on CD as Live in London, a series of releases from the Harkit label; they offer a very different picture of his playing from the studio albums of the period.-1... // Events Top grossing films North America Thunderball Dr. Zhivago Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? That Darn Cat! The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming Academy Awards Best Picture: A Man for All Seasons - Highland, Columbia Best Actor: Paul Scofield - A Man for All Seasons Best Actress: Elizabeth Taylor... Alfie is a 1966 film starring Michael Caine. ... Ronnie Scott (left) with Tubby Hayes. ...

Second sabbatical

Frustrated once again, Rollins took his most recent sabbatical to study yoga, meditation, and Eastern philosophies. When he returned in 1972, it was clear that he had become enamored with R&B, pop, and funk rhythms. His bands throughout the 1970s and 1980s featured electric guitar, electric bass, and usually more pop- or funk-oriented drummers. It was during this period that Rollins' notoriety for unaccompanied saxophone solos came to the forefront. In 1985 he released his Solo Album, though many Rollins fans consider it something of a disappointment compared to his best solo work.-1... -1...

Rollins' most famous appearance to rock music fans was his appearance on the 1981 Rolling Stones album Tattoo You, on which he plays saxophone on "Slave", "Waiting on a Friend" and possibly "Neighbours". This article is about the rock band. ... Tattoo You is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. ... Waiting On A Friend is a song by rock and roll band the Rolling Stones off of their 1981 release Tattoo You. ...

In addition to the Stones album, Rollins has another link to rock fans. The Blue Note cover art to his Sonny Rollins Vol. 2 set was replicated by Joe Jackson for his 1984 A&M album Body and Soul, which prominently features sax and trumpet. Joe Jackson (born August 11, 1954 in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, as David Ian Jackson) is an English musician and singer/songwriter probably best-known for the 1979 hit song Is She Really Going Out With Him?, which still gets extensive FM radio airplay, and for his 1982 hit, Steppin... A&M may mean: Texas A&M University One of the flagship universities of the state of Texas and the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. ...

2001 to present

Although his recordings in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s were not as critically acclaimed as his earlier recordings, he continues to be known for his powerful live performances. Critics such as Gary Giddins and Stanley Crouch have noted the disparity between Sonny Rollins the recording artist, and Sonny Rollins the concert artist. In a May 2005 New Yorker profile, Crouch wrote of Rollins the concert artist: The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

"Over and over, decade after decade, from the late seventies through the eighties and nineties, there he is, Sonny Rollins, the saxophone colossus, playing somewhere in the world, some afternoon or some eight o'clock somewhere, pursuing the combination of emotion, memory, thought, and aesthetic design with a command that allows him to achieve spontaneous grandiloquence. With its brass body, its pearl-button keys, its mouthpiece, and its cane reed, the horn becomes the vessel for the epic of Rollins' talent and the undimmed power and lore of his jazz ancestors."

On September 11, 2001, Rollins, who lived several blocks away, heard the World Trade Center collapse, and was forced to evacuate his apartment, with only his saxophone in hand. Although he was shaken, he traveled to Boston five days later to play a concert at the Berklee School of Music. The live recording of that performance was released on CD in 2005, "Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert", which won the 2006 Grammy for Jazz Instrumental Solo for Sonny's solo on the song "Why Was I Born?". He won an earlier Grammy for the CD "This Is What I Do". September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Berklee College of Music, founded in 1945, is an independent music college in Boston, Massachusetts with many prominent faculty, staff, alumni, and visiting artists. ...

Rollins was presented with a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 2004. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording [1]. This award is distinct from the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which honors specific recordings rather than individuals, and... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After a highly successful Japanese tour in late 2005, Rollins returned to the recording studio for the first time in five years to record the Grammy-nominated CD Sonny, Please (2006). The CD title is derived from one of his late wife's favorite phrases. At the same time, he launched his own website, and started his own label, Doxy Records which issued Sonny, Please, produced by trombonist Clifton Anderson. In 2006, Rollins completed the DownBeat Readers Poll triple win for: "Jazzman of the Year", "#1 Tenor Sax Player", and "Recording of the Year" for the CD "Without a Song" (The 9/11 Concert)".

The city of Minneapolis, Minnesota officially named 31 October 2006 after Rollins in honor of his achievements and contributions to the world of jazz. Nickname: City of Lakes Motto: En Avant (French: Lets go!) Location in Hennepin County and the state of Minnesota. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ...

May 2007 he received the prestigious Polar Music Prize in Stockholm, Sweden, together with Steve Reich. The Polar Music Prize is an international music prize and awarded to individuals, groups or institutions in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music. The prize was founded in 1989 following a donation from Stig Anderson and is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of... Stephen Michael Reich (born October 3, 1936) is an American composer. ...

On May 27, 2007, Colby College award Rollins a Doctor of Music, honoris causa, for his contributions to jazz music. Colby College, founded in 1813, is one of the United States of Americas oldest independent liberal arts colleges. ...

Selected Discography

• Saxophone Colossus (1956)
• A Night at the Village Vanguard (1957)
• Way Out West (1957)
• Sonny Rollins Quintet
• Sonny and the Stars
• Sonny Rollins With the Modern Jazz Quartet
• Mambo Jazz
• Moving Out
• The Bridge
• Worktime
• Sonny Rollins Plus 4
• Sonny Rollins Brass / Sonny Rollins Trio
• Tenor Madness
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird
• Sonny Boy
• Tour de Force
• Sonny Rollins Vol I
• Sonny Rollins Vol II
• The Sound of Sonny
• The Freedom Suite
• Newks Time
• First Recording 1957
• At Music Inn
• East Broadway Run Down
• Alfie
• Our Man In Jazz
• Dancing in the Dark
• Global warming
• This is what I do
• "Without a Song" (The 9/11 Concert) (2005)
• Sonny, Please (2006)

Saxophone Colossus is one of Sonny Rollins most acclaimed albums. ... Way Out West is a 1957 album by Sonny Rollins. ...

Samples

• Download sample commenting out image with no source/bad FairUse claim--> of "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" from The Sound of Sonny

Films

• Saxophone Colossus (1986). Directed by Robert Mugge.
• EPK for Sonny Please[2]
• Soundtrack for the classic sixties film Alfie composed by Rollins, featuring Rollins with Stan Tracey. The album of this name was an American recording with arrangements by Oliver Nelson.
• The Sonny Rollins Podcast [3]

Robert Mugge (b. ... Alfie is a 1966 film starring Michael Caine. ... Stanley William Tracey (born in Tooting, London on December 30, 1926) is a UK jazz pianist and composer, most influenced by Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. ... Oliver Nelson (1932–1975) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinettist, and composer. ...

References

• Blancq, Charles. (1983). Sonny Rollins: The journey of a jazzman. Boston: Twayne.
• Nisenson, Eric (2000). Open Sky, Sonny Rollins and his world of Improvisation. Da Capo Books: Printing Press. 

External links

• Sonny Rollins Official Website
• Documentary about Sonny's new CD "SONNY, PLEASE"
• Night Lights radio show featuring excerpts from Rollins' live 1965 appearances at Ronnie Scott's