Rollins on UTUBE

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofxYabC6WUU

When was this?

Who was with him?

and here's another.

I can't say I'm a great fan of Rollins, but perhaps I should be.

Missed a lot. Only have the one with Stitt & Diz. Where to start?

MG

[medjuck]

David Sanburn. I wonder if that was the same night he played with Leonard Cohen on that show. I think it was on instead of SNL one summer.

Edited March 29, 2007 by medjuck

[JSngry]

David Sanburn. I wonder if that was the same night he played with Leonard Cohen on that show. I think it was on instead of SNL one summer.

And George Duke.

It was. That Rollins/Cohen thing still gives me goosebumps.

It was on NBC on Sunday nights for a year, then went syndicated for a season.

Still no DVD (or even VHS) issues of the shows (Broadway Video is Lorne Michaels' thing, right?) which is a near-crime.

Check out that tag he plays at the very end where he takes his held note, lips it up a half step, then plays a descending run in the new key all the way to the bottom of the horn in that key, only to resolve it to the tonic of the original key. It's the beginning of the process by a lipping up that makes it so damn bad.

Sonny Rollins is TenorGod. Go TenorGod, we LOVE you!

Edited March 29, 2007 by JSngry

[bolivarblues]

Missed a lot. Only have the one with Stitt & Diz. Where to start?

MG

Saxophone Colossus is probably the best place to start; classic recording that swings from start to finish, with Max Roach and Tommy Flannagan; it was recently released as a Prestige RVG. Sonny Rollins Plus Four is another recently released Prestige RVG; a total smoker, essentially a Clifford Brown and Max Roach recording with Rollins instead of Harold Land. Rollins had an incredibly prolific streak during the period of 1956-1958 before Trane sent him back to the woodshed for a couple of years; you can't go wrong with anything he did during that stretch. In addition to the two I've already mentioned, there's the Blue Notes Vol. I, Vol. II, Newk's Time and A Night At The Village Vanguard, as well as Tenor Madness, Freedom Suite and Way Out West. Following his hiatus, he returned with The Bridge, which along with Saxophone Colossus, is IMO Rollins' best work. Jim Hall adds some amazing guitar work.

Edited March 30, 2007 by Frankie Machine

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

For some reason, I just switch off when Rollins is soloing on "Sonny side up". I couldn't tell you what he's like, though I hear and follow Diz and Stitt v well. I also used to have a couple of tracks of him with the MJQ at Music Inn vol 2. Again, no impact as far as I was concerned. So I don't think other recordings from this period are going to do it for me.

What I saw the other night GOT to me, though. I was a bit tired then, so I couldn't be asked to be detailed about it.

If that was Duke and a young Sanborn with Sonny on the first video, I guess it's late '70s. So, is that video typical of his playing at that time? From what Jim said, sounds like it might have been. If so, what, from that era is recommended?

MG

[flat5]

Worktime is fun.

Our Man in Jazz is my personal favorite.

I like everything he did (that I've heard, listening since 1962) up till maybe 1966. After that, I like most of his recordings.

[joeface]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofxYabC6WUU

When was this?

Who was with him?

and here's another.

I can't say I'm a great fan of Rollins, but perhaps I should be.

Missed a lot. Only have the one with Stitt & Diz. Where to start?

MG

Hehe, in the first vid I can tell that's Omar Hakim on drums just by the very flexible grip. Definitely one of my faves from the usually annoying "pop/fusion" realm.

Edited March 30, 2007 by joeface

[JSngry]

If that was Duke and a young Sanborn with Sonny on the first video, I guess it's late '70s. So, is that video typical of his playing at that time? From what Jim said, sounds like it might have been. If so, what, from that era is recommended?

It's actually early 1990s.

Sonny live & Sonny on record have been two different things for quite a while now (many a discussion about this and what it all means has been had here and elsewhere). But if you want a later-period studio side that catches some of this spirit (and I stress some), please try Falling In Love With Jazz. I think you'll enjoy it. I know I do.

It's actually refreshing to hear somebody who's not particularly enthralled by"vintage" Rollins respond positively to an example of his later work, which I myself think has been highly, highly undervalued by too many people (usually for reasons which are intellectually defensible, I suppose, but geez, how do you not hear the sheer joy in this man's playing here - to say nothing of the total mastery of the instrument - and not be touched by it? That's something to which I cannot even begin to relate). There's plenty there to be touched by, I think. More than plenty, in fact.

[Tom Storer]

That Rollins/Cohen thing still gives me goosebumps.

Would this be it?

[JSngry]

Yes, even if the intro is lightly truncated.

Edited April 1, 2007 by JSngry

[JSngry]

This one is more complete & better quality, video & sound:

The way they led into it was w/a clip of "God Bless The Child" from Jazz Scene. Straight cut from the old to the (then) current. That's why Sonny quotes "God Bless The Child" in his intro.

The sheer power & size of Rollins's sound here is a natural wonder. TenorGod in action.

[Late]

The video with David Sanborn is either from 1989 or 1990. I remember watching that episode in the TV room at Bruce Hall when it was aired.

Magnificent Goldberg — I'd pick up a copy of G-Man. It's from 1986, and the title track alone is worth the purchase. It's a long, live performance (Rollins' solo on "G-Man," that is) that never once loses interest. Rollins at an absolute peak from this time.

Edited April 1, 2007 by Late

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Thanks folks. I'm only getting occasional notifications of posts onto this thread, so I haven't seen anything since my last post 'til now.

When I get back into proper jazz buying mode again, I'll go for those two recommendations.

MG

[JSngry]

The video with David Sanborn is either from 1989 or 1990. I remember watching that episode in the TV room at Bruce Hall when it was aired.

Bruce Hall, eh? I can only hope that walls don't talk...

Yess, 89-90. That was when the show was on NBC & called Sunday Night, co-hosted by Sanborn & Jools Holland, who, as much as I respect him in his realm was in waaaaay over his head in this one.. Then NBC dropped it and it went into syndication as Night Music, sponsored by Michelob & hoisted by Sanborn alone.

There were some mighty fine moments on that show...

[Harold_Z]

BTW...Tom Barney on bass.

FINE FINE player.

[Late]

There were some mighty fine moments on that show...

True. I happened to have watched that particular episode with Rudresh Mahanthappa. Of course, back then we called him Rudi. (And Shelley Carroll was still in the 1 O'Clock.)