In this sense, Levy’s book counts as a success, since its endless supply of superlatives can still inspire and guide readers to listen afresh to Rollins’ huge catalog of recordings.Ī definitive account of a jazz icon in which the level of detail will interest only superfans.Ī former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.ĭiscovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters.
In fact, Levy's greatest contribution is his extensive account of the dissatisfaction that led to Rollins’ decision to practice on the Williamsburg Bridge for more than a year as well as the attention paid to the less-well-known work that followed. Fans who are only familiar with Rollins’ late-1950s hard-bop golden age (particularly the classic album from which the book’s title is drawn) will be delighted to discover more about his later evolution.
The portrait of Rollins the activist, yogi, and perfectionist genius that emerges frequently borders on hagiography, though the author gradually manages to convey the essence of an artist driven by a relentless spiritual quest to improve himself. Levy’s obsession with complete documentation also means that we only come to appreciate Rollins’ fascinating personality through the sheer weight of repeated anecdotes instead of synthesis on the part of his biographer.
While completists will be thrilled with the in-depth chronicle of exactly which songs were played with which musicians at which concert dates, others will find that these frequent asides make the text read like a very long track list. We hear about his interactions with early idols like Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, his work with contemporaries Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, and his later mentorship of younger players like the Marsalis brothers. The saxophonist’s central place in the history of jazz means that he played with a list of luminaries that spans generations. 1932), Levy, the author of Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed, documents a 65-year career through conversations drawn from nearly everyone who interacted with Rollins. In this meticulously researched biography of Sonny Rollins (b. A concert in Boston five days later was eventually released as Without A Song: the 9/11 concert, winning Rollins another Grammy for his solo on “Why Was I Born.A colossally detailed account of the legendary saxophonist. Later that year, just a few days after his 71 st birthday, Rollins had to evacuate his Manhattan apartment after the collapse of the World Trade Center. By the 1980s, Sonny Rollins was mostly headlining concert halls and theaters, performing solo saxophone concerts and even joining the Rolling Stones for three songs on their album Tattoo You.Īccolades and honors came to Rollins in the '80s and' 90s, and he won a Grammy in 2001 for his album This Is What I Do.
#Sonny rollins saxophone colossus series#
He also took up yoga and exercise at this time, emerging with the appropriately titled comeback album, The Bridge.Īfter a series of successful albums and world tours, Rollins took a second two-year break from music to visit Jamaica and continue his pursuit of yoga, meditation and Eastern philosophy. In the summer of 1959, Rollins took a famous two-year sabbatical to focus on his playing – which he did for up to 16 hours a day on the Williamsburg Bridge, connecting Manhattan with Brooklyn.
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