At
some point during grad school, we finally decided to get a CD player. We
decided on some fancy new-fangled “shelf unit” that had all the components
stacked in one fairly compact piece (and I think it cost more than our first
two cars put together). I remember the first disc I played on the machine – a copy
of Sonny Rollins’ The Bridge (one of
the first three albums we received from BMG Music Club, no less!). Though
already listening to jazz for several years at the time, I wasn’t yet too
familiar with his work. And from the first notes of “Without a Song,” I was
hooked. Something sweet, complex and emotional always came from Sonny’s horn.
As my love for his music grew – from that first album to Way out West and Saxophone
Colossus to This is What I Do, Road Shows and Sonny, Please – I have cherished what feels like a personal
connection also to the greats whose legacy he carries on: Bird and Diz, Lester
Young, Coleman Hawkins and Miles himself.
As
Sonny turns 85 today, I admire his unflagging energy and spirit, his
indomitable talent, and especially his love for the history and impact of his
genre. Just listening to him speak so lovingly of the jazz past assures me that
his present will long continue to carry us into a future of sublime and
significant art.
Happy
birthday Sonny Rollins – a colossus among giants.
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