All Your Jazz » Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins To Play The Tarrytown Music Hall: Benefit concert for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater

jazzman — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:48:28 +0000

Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins and his band will perform a special benefit concert for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater on Sunday, December 6, 2009 at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, NY. The concert will begin at 2:00 pm.

- Original Posting
- Background on Sonny Rollins

Performance Details

Sonny Rollins’s performance in Tarrytown on behalf of Pete Seeger’s Clearwater will mark the first time the renowned environmental organization has ever hosted a benefit concert dedicated solely to jazz, and is also the first time that the saxophonist has performed a fund-raiser for any cause. The concert, to be presented by Jazz Forum Arts, is Rollins’s only 2009 New York area appearance.

Performing with Sonny Rollins will be his working band: Clifton Anderson (trombone); Bobby Broom (guitar); Bob Cranshaw (bass); Kobie Watkins (drums); and Victor See-Yuen (percussion).

Tickets for the concert range from $75 to $100; a limited number of premium tickets (which include a reception with Rollins) are also available.

For information and ticket purchases, visit www.tarrytownmusichall.org or call (877) 840-0457.

Tarrytown Music Hall
13 Main Street
Tarrytown, NY
(877) 840-0457
www.tarrytownmusichall.org

Sonny Rollins: Background & History

jazzman — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 09:51:49 +0000

Born Walter Theodore Rollins in Harlem, New York, he was introduced to jazz and blues by his uncle who was a professional saxophonist. In high school, he decided to play the tenor saxophone after playing piano and alto saxophone during his younger years. He was inspired particularly by Coleman Hawkins and by the time Rollins was out of school, he was already working with big-name musicians such as Bud Powell, Fats Navarro and Roy Haynes. In the 1950s, he recorded classics such as Saxophone Colossus, Worktime, Tenor Madness (with John Coltrane), Night At The Village Vanguard, Way Out West and Freedom Suite.

During the 1960s, Rollins recorded The Bridge with Jim Hall and Bob Cranshaw, led a quartet with trumpeter Don Cherry and drummer Billy Higgins and recorded with his idol Hawkins. He also received a Grammy nomination for his score for the popular film, Alfie.

In 1972, he released Next Album. In the early ‘80s, Rollins was working under the Milestone label and produced two dozen albums including tour recordings and in-studio tracks with the likes of Tommy Flanagan, Jack DeJohnette, Stanley Clarke, Tony Williams, George Duke, Ron Carter and McCoy Tyner. In 2005, Rollins formed his own record label, Doxy Records. The first release under Doxy, Sonny, Please earned a Grammy nomination. Rollins’ Road Shows: Vol. 1 and a DVD, Sonny Rollins in Vienne, have also been released under Doxy.

Rollins won his first Grammy for This Is What I Do (2000) and his second for 2004’s Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 2004. Additionally, he was inducted into the Academy of Achievement at the International Achievement Summit in Los Angeles (2006) and was a recipient of the Polar Music Prize, presented in Stockholm (2007). Most recently, he was named Best Tenor Saxophonist in the 2008 Down Beat Critics’ Poll and the Jazz Times Readers’ Poll and by the Jazz Journalists Association.

Sources:
- Sonny Rollin’s Official Site
- Wikipedia.org

Sonny Rollins To Perform At OCPAC

jazzman — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:29:07 +0000

Event:
April 30th, 2009
(8:00 pm)
Orange County Performing Arts Center
Costa Mesa, CA

Sonny Rollins, Grammy Award-winning jazz master, brings his tenor saxophone to the Orange County Performing Arts Center April 30 for a one-night-only special performance in the acoustically superb Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Considered the most formidable of jazz improvisers, Rollins first recorded in 1949 and, more than half a century later, remains one of the few surviving deities from a golden era of jazz likely to never be equaled. The New York Times states Rollins is “jazz’s greatest tenor saxophonist, “and the Village Voice calls him, “the last jazz immortal.”

The Orange County Performing Arts Center applauds Media Sponsors KJAZZ 88.1 FM and the Long Beach Press-Telegram for their support of the 2008-2009 Jazz Club Series. Mercedes-Benz, USA is the Premier Sponsor of the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s 2008-2009 Season.

Performance Details:

Tickets for Sonny Rollins are $25 – $82 and they are available online at OCPAC.org, at the Center’s Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 15 or more, call the Group Sales office at (714) 755-0236. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746.

Student Specials:

The Orange County Performing Arts Center is offering student rush tickets for this performance. Ticket prices are $15 for all seats. They are available one hour before each performance. A valid student ID is required at the time of purchase, with a limit of two tickets per person, which must be paid for in cash. Students are advised to call the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s information line at 714.556.2787 to confirm availability. The Center’s Box Office is located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

Location:
Orange County Performing Arts Center
(Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall)
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 556-2121
http://www.ocpac.org/home/noflash.aspx

Saxophonist Sonny Rollins To Put On Multimedia Celebration For 78th Birthday: Will focus on fans and new album

jazzman — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:47:04 +0000

Sonny Rollins, aka the Saxophone Colossus, turns 78 on Sunday, September 7. His website, sonnyrollins.com, is hosting a multimedia celebration that focuses on his fans, his web visitors, his greatest inspiration, Coleman Hawkins, and his extraordinary new recording, Road Shows, Vol. 1.

Content available for viewing or download includes an animated transcription of The Everywhere Calypso, The Sonny Rollins Podcast: Sonny’s Fans, Sonny’s 1962 Letter to Coleman Hawkins for Download, excerpts from Sonny’s new CD, Road Shows, Volume 1, Gary Giddins’ liner notes for Road Shows, and, Sonny’s Guestbook replies.

As part of the Birthday celebration, visitors can see an animated transcription of Sonny’s solo on The Everywhere Calypso. For musicians, this is an incredible learning tool, for those who can’t read music; a unique look into Sonny’s improvisations.

Celebration Features:

Just before Sonny’s August 6 Central Park concert, Bret Jazz Video Guy Primack interviewed a number of Sonny’s fans. Everyone from Henry Enrico Farrell, who heard Sonny at the Vanguard in 1957, to some young Japanese women who play Sonny’s music in their college band.

Bret took these interviews and put together a Podcast that offers a portrait of Sonny through the eyes of his fans. An interesting cross section of people can be seen in this video, testifying to the truly dynamic nature of Sonny’s music.

In October of 1962, Sonny heard his idol, Coleman Hawkins, live at the Village Gate in New York’s Greenwich Village. Moved by the performance, Sonny decided to express his feelings in words so he wrote a letter to Hawk. A year later, they would record together on the immortal Sonny Meets Hawk, and play together at the Newport Jazz Festival.

Forty-six years later, Sonny remembers writing the letter “at a time when musicians were dealing with stress on a number of fronts, including racism. Coleman Hawkins was an inspiration to all of us, not only his music, but because he always carried himself with great dignity.”

Sonny Rollins 1962 letter to Coleman Hawkins is available for download as part of the Birthday celebration.

Check out Sonny Rollins 78th Birthday Celebration at: http://www.sonnyrollins.com

What To Expect From Rollins In The Near Future:

On October 28th, Doxy/Universal will release a compilation of live Sonny Rollins performances. This is the recording many people have been waiting for. The album includes seven tracks, which start in 1980 and finish up with Some Enchanted Evening, from last year’s 50th Anniversary Carnegie Hall concert. Visitors to the celebration can download an MP3 of excerpts from the recording.

[Source: www.ejazznews.com]

Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman To Headline 30th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival

Mike — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:00:45 +0000

The Chicago Jazz Festival, the city of Chicago’s longest running music festival, announces headliners Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman for the 30th Annual event, August 28-31, 2008. What was born from concerts to remember jazz greats Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, has turned into an annual celebration of jazz music that is not to be missed. This Labor Day weekend tradition begins with a free evening concert at Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion on August 28, and then moves to Grant Park for three days of free music, August 29-31.

What better way to begin the celebration of 30 years of jazz than with two-time GRAMMY Award winner and 2004 GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Sonny Rollins. Rollins officially opens The Chicago Jazz Festival on August 28 at 6:30 p.m. at a new location, the world-renowned Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Rollins is one of the last of the originals-a running mate of Miles Davis, Clifford Jordan and Max Roach, he was among the inventors of the language of Bebop. Rollins emerged from shedding time in Chicago in the 50s with a signature sound that has astounded audiences and inspired countless musicians for over 50 years.

The Chicago Jazz Festival then moves to Grant Park, August 29-31, for three stages of free music, activities and more from 11:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. This year’s Artist-in-Residence is Chicago-based composer, arranger, musician and educator, Edward Wilkerson, Jr. As a composer, Wilkerson has been highly inspired by the music of Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, as a reed player his sound takes flight from Coleman Hawkins. Like many Chicago reed players you can hear the whole history of jazz in his ideas. Known for founding the cutting edge 8 Bold Souls (with whom he performs on Sunday evening at the Petrillo Music Shell), Wilkerson kicks-off the music at 12 noon at the Jazz on Jackson Stage on Friday, August 29.

Closing out the event on Sunday, August 31 at the Petrillo Music Shell is saxophonist/composer Ornette Coleman. Known as the creator of what has been called “free jazz,” Coleman’s contribution to the jazz idiom has been the theory and practice of “harmolodics” -an approach that has been internationally recognized as a founding principle of creative improvised music. Over the course of five decades he has been recognized with awards including the MacArthur “Genius” Award, an induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letter. the NEA Jazz Masters and more. And after fifty years of being in the vanguard the rest of the world finally caught up to him as indicated by his receiving of both a Grammy award for his acclaimed album Sound Grammar, and the 2007 Pulitzer Award.

In celebration of the 30th Annual event, Gerald Wilson, T.S. Galloway, Vijay Iyer and Dave Douglas have each been commissioned by the Chicago Jazz Festival to create a piece in honor of the milestone anniversary. In addition to this year’s incredible line-up of Chicago’s and the world’s greatest jazz musicians, the Chicago Jazz Festival features an art fair located in the rose garden between Jackson Blvd. and Buckingham Fountain, Chicago’s world famous restaurants will offer delights and beer and soda vendors will have thirst quenchers onsite. As always, the entire family can enjoy jazz at all of the stages and a new kid’s activity area will be making its debut this year.

Other highlights include Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Dee Dee Bridgewater and more!

The four day festival is the centerpiece of seven days of jazz activities beginning with Monday’s Made in Chicago closing concert in Millennium Park, Tuesday’s Jazz Institute 40th Birthday gala concert and Wednesday’s Jazz Club Tour.

The Chicago Jazz Festival is produced by the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and programmed with the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Current sponsors include the Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago Tribune, CLTV-Chicagoland’s Television, Comcast, Communications Direct, DownBeat Magazine, Hinckley Springs, Jazz Times Magazine, National City, Pepsi Cola, TAVA and WGN-Television.

The full schedule can be found at:
[www.jazzpolice.com]

Sonny Rollins Closes Out JVC Jazz Festival In Newport

Mike — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:05:00 +0000

Saturday’s bill at the JVC Jazz Festival-Newport closed with Aretha Franklin, so it was only fitting that yesterday featured another classic voice at the top of the bill — Sonny Rollins.

The songs and structures weren’t groundbreaking, but that wasn’t the point: The legendary saxophonist’s tone was more than enough to satisfy the announced crowd of 6,000 at Fort Adams, as he and his band worked through one-chord jazz-funk on the opening “Sonny Please,” the sprightly standard “Someday I’ll Find You,” the lush ballad “In a Sentimental Mood” and more. Rollins soloed on chorus after chorus on a thrilling marathon version of the calypso-influenced “Global Warning,” and throughout the 77-year-old continued to demonstrate his mastery of the language that generations of saxophone players have worked to match — as expressive as a human voice, only better, with eternal sustain, elephantine howls and bottom-of-the barrel growls.

Meanwhile, Soulive was levitating the second-stage crowd with lean, mean funk, including a guest appearance from trombonist Fred Wesley (who did the same favor for Lettuce on Saturday) and from singer Anthony Hamilton, who was on his way out, saw Soulive doing a fiery version of Sly Stone’s “If You Want Me to Stay” and got in on the fun. (Hamilton scrapped the blues project he had announced for his main-stage performance and went with his new-yet-retro R&B. His sweet voice showed a nice falsetto and the spirited singer at one point leapt from the stage and went deeper into the crowd than any Newport performer in recent memory.)