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Tribute To Living Legend Sonny Rollins; Other Birthdays This Week--Roy Ayers, Harry Connick Jr, and More

by David W. Daniels
Tribute to Sonny Rollins--his compositions as interpreted by other jazz musicians, including Jim Hall and Ron Carter, Lambert/Hendricks/Ross, Ted Curson and more. Two compositions from Sonny Rollins' best known albums. Other jazz musicians' birthdays, including David Sanchez, Maria Muldaur, Baby Face Willette and more. Playlist John Coltrane Like Sonny" from The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (Compilation) (Atlantic) 00:00 Jim Hall and Ron Carter St. Thomas" from Alone Together (Milestone) 8:33 Don Patterson with Booker Ervin Oleo" ...
Continue ReadingCarla Bley, Count Basie, Diane Schuur, Hubert Laws & Sonny Rollins

by Joe Dimino
Welcome to the 900th episode of Neon Jazz! After 14 incredible years, we've hit yet another milestone--one that wouldn't be possible without the legends who have shaped jazz and the fans who've supported us every step of the way. For this special hour, we take a deep dive into the icons who have defined the sound of jazz and graced our interview series. We begin with the saxophone giant Sonny Rollins, featuring music from his brand-new 2024 album The Complete ...
Continue ReadingMy Summer with Sonny

by Patrick Burnette
Raise your hands, jazz fans, if you've been thinking about jazz legend Sonny Rollins during the last few months. After all, the great man is still with us at age 94. Reaching such an age is an accomplishment for anybody, but a miraculous feat for an African-American jazz musician born in the early decades of the twentieth-century, who saw so many of his predecessors and peers die young from drugs, alcohol, hard living, and the stresses of omnipresent racism. Rollins ...
Continue ReadingMy Summer with Sonny: The Podcast

by Patrick Burnette
Summer's winding down. How'd you spend yours? Pat spent his immersed in the music and life of Sonny Rollins, one of the greatest improvisers to grace the story of jazz. In this podcast, which is kind of an upcoming article in summary (and audio) form, Pat looks at the massive new biography of Sonny as well as four recent reissues of some of his best loved music, most of which involve trios.Playlist Discussion of Aidan Levy's book Saxophone ...
Continue ReadingThelonious Monk: Brilliant Corners

by Richard J Salvucci
Writing about being lost for words" is not the ideal way of starting a review, but it may be the plain truth. Perhaps Thelonious Monk is an acquired taste. Perhaps not. Whatever the case, this particular release of Brilliant Corners is just that--brilliant.The whole package is superb and really defines Craft Recordings Small Batch" vinyl series. The technical literature accompanying the recording says Each edition is cut from its original analog tapes by Bernie Grundman and pressed on ...
Continue ReadingSonny Rollins: Go West! The Contemporary Records Albums

by Richard J Salvucci
Apparently, the median age of a jazz listener is in his or her mid to late 40s. So, perhaps, the representative listener was born in the mid-1970s. Sonny Rollins first recorded in 1949. The recordings reviewed here were made in the late 1950s, well before many contemporary listeners were born. While there have been ample reissues of Rollins' work, most coincided with the still-active phase of his career. Much of his work has appeared since Skylark" on The Next Album ...
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