I was first introduced to Sonny Rollins through the Community Arts Program (CAP) at CalArts (which I’m so incredibly lucky to have nearby). I was just learning my blues scales then; with a group of about 5 or 6 musicians, we learned the Rollins tune, “Tenor Madness.” It’s a pretty catchy piece in the Bb blues scale.
But anyways, about Sonny Rollins — this saxophonist from the 1950s comes a bit after the bebop era of musicians like Charlie Parker and Monk (although Sonny Rollins was able to play with Monk at the age of 20).
One of Rollins’s most unique accomplishments is the piano-less trio. Although omitting one instrument from a musical group (even a classical group) doesn’t seem like such a big deal, it really is — each instrument in a group like a jazz quartet plays its own role: the piano outlines the chord changes and support the solos, the bass lays down the foundation and keeps the groove, the drums keep the drive and the rhythm, and the soloist (which might be a trumpet, saxophone, etc.) carries the melody. The way Rollins succeeded his piano-less trio was by using his saxophone like a rhythm section instrument during the bass/drum solos. You can check this idea out in these recordings of St. Thomas and There Will Never Be Another You.
Sonny Rollins is still alive today, unlike many of his contemporaries (i.e. Miles Davis), and he’s turning a ripe age of 79 this coming fall. In fact, he’ll be doing a concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 16th, 2010 — go check him out! I’d better start saving up money for those tickets. :)
Sonny Rollins’s Standards: 1…St. Thomas. 2…Airegin.(Nigeria spelled backwards, hah) 3…Oleo.
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Czech Suite, Op/39/B93, II. Allegro Grazioso/Antonín Dvořák/Smetana: Má vlast; Dvorak: Symphony No.4
