Article on Sonny Rollins Thelonious Monk Prestige album

[JSngry]

Another form or recording, yes. But who talks about all the Sonny Rollins YouTube clips and bootlegs and very private recordings and such when contemplating his life and playing, and then putting some dots in between them? Nobody, really. It's just recordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecordsrecords

like the record store is a collection of raw videotape and not an edited reel of film.

One thing that jumps ut in that 82 clip is just how fit the man was. Not merely healthy, but fit, like buff. That goes directly to how he plays the horn, because the way he plays is very, just incredibly, physical. Even the most recent clips where he's all hunchbacked and wandering around, it's a physical act performed with full intent and engagement. It was, I think, when the Global Warming album came out that I said, uh-oh, Sonny's starting to sounds like he's getting old, not iny bad way, just that his body was turning that corner that all of our bodies do if we're lucky enough to live long enough to let it do so. But still, yeah, damn, look at some 20012-2013 footage, he's more engaged with the band than ever, and it's not a "solo" music that gets him there, it's a group endeavor, with him giving pointers along the way with little asides and cues that say let's keep it here, let's move it here, a little to the left, now to the right, few steps forward, now,,,===...THERE. And this bent over old man with the freakyass hair who walks around like some kind of crazy man, when he decides it his time to step in, he still puts full physical effort into it. It's inspiring as hell, but do you see that on records, no you don't. You only get to hear the playing, which is like listening to a musical and not seeing the choreography or the facial expressions.

[Peter Friedman]

Yes, but all this does not change the fact that, as with most things, we all have our personal favorites.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

Rollins playing during the 1954-1958 period is the music by him that I find most meaningful and enjoyable.

That does not mean that iI do not dig many things I have heard by Sonny from other time periods.

[AllenLowe]

I also think, based on my own listening experiences after I came 'of age,' (post 1969?) that recordings in jazz are a pretty damn accurate reflection of the music, just like a book is a powerful reflection of the writer.

Edited May 27, 2014 by AllenLowe

[uli]

Enjoyed reading this interview with Cranshaw this morning. Naturally he talks a bit about Sonny too

Ethan Iverson @ethan_iverson · 8h
NEW DTM PAGE: Interview with Bob Cranshaw http://bit.ly/SK1zTl

[Chuck Nessa]

At some point I have respect for myself as a typist but do not compare my experiences and/or ideas with Hemingway or Faulkner. Nor do I really understand all they did. And so it goes...

The whole "I play the instrument" thing only goes so far with me.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Chuck Nessa

[bluesoul]

Enjoyed reading this interview with Cranshaw this morning. Naturally he talks a bit about Sonny too

Ethan Iverson @ethan_iverson · 8h

NEW DTM PAGE: Interview with Bob Cranshaw http://bit.ly/SK1zTl

Thanks for posting this, it is a terrific interview.

[Larry Kart]

Fascinating interview. Used to hear Cranshaw at sessions in Evanston in the late '50s. Didn't take a genius to figure out that he was going somewhere.