| Tenor Saxophonist, Sonny Rollins is a true musician, a | | | | me out there, so I could fall down." While on this hiatus |
| man who walked away from rising fame to practice | | | | Rollins had a hard time finding someplace to practice |
| alone atop an isolated bridge rather than letting his | | | | with the frequency that he wanted. He was conscious |
| legend grow faster than his creativity. Rollins started | | | | of other peoples feelings and didn't want to bother his |
| as a piano player before being given his first | | | | neighbors with the constant sound of his playing. One |
| saxophone at age 13. That first saxophone was an | | | | day while walking around town, Rollins happened |
| alto, a nod to saxophonist Louis Jordon. Rollins would | | | | across the Williamsburg Bridge. He noticed that there |
| switch over to tenor at the age of 16, inspired by his | | | | was very little traffic on the bridge, and that it was long |
| idol Coleman Hawkins. By the time he was 20, Rollins | | | | enough that he could practice in relative isolation. |
| was playing with the legendary jazz pianist Thelonious | | | | Sonny spent many hours practicing on that bridge, and |
| Monk. Other notable musicians that Sonny had played | | | | would allude to that fact when he recorded his next |
| and recorded with by then include Miles Davis, J.J. | | | | album. |
| Johnson, Babs Gonzales and Bud Powell. | | | | Rollins' return to music would come in 1962 with the |
| Between 1956 and 1958 Rollins released a string of | | | | release of the The Bridge. His live shows during this |
| recordings that would earn him a reputation as one of | | | | time would become known for their long improvised |
| the most talented and innovative saxophonists in the | | | | solos, combining Rollins' impressive knowledge of |
| jazz world. The first track on the 1956 album Sonny | | | | popular songs with his amazing improvisational skills. By |
| Rollins Plus Four, Valse Hot, was one of the first jazz | | | | the mid sixties Sonny Rollins would play with his idol, |
| songs to play bop in 3/4 time. His widely acclaimed | | | | Coleman Hawkins. Other noteworthy collaborators |
| album 'Saxophone Colossus' exposed fans to Rollins' | | | | during this time include Don Cherry, Paul Bley, and Jim |
| first foray into calypso inspired playing on his | | | | Hall. Sonny took another break from music in 1966 |
| arrangement of the traditional song St. Thomas. In | | | | after becoming frustrated with the music business and |
| 1957, after a string of problems with incompatible | | | | getting into eastern religions. During this next break, he |
| pianists, Rollins released the album Way Out West, | | | | spent some time in a monastery in India. |
| which featured Rollins' saxophone stylings backed only | | | | After his return in 1972, the impressive list of musicians |
| by a drummer and bassist. | | | | with which Rollins' played grew to include names like |
| By 1959, Rollins had become a huge star; rather than | | | | Tommy Flanagan, Jack DeJohnette, Stanley Clarke, |
| believing his own hype, Sonny took a hiatus from | | | | Tony Williams, Ron Carter, and McCoy Tyner. He won |
| music to insure that his musicianship grew | | | | his first Grammy for his 2000 release This is What I |
| proportionately to his fame. In his own words, "I was | | | | Do and his second for 2004's Without a Song. |
| getting very famous at the time and I felt I needed to | | | | Sonny plays a Selmer Mark VI saxophone with Rigotti |
| brush up on various aspects of my craft. I felt I was | | | | reeds on an Otto Link or Berg Larsen mouthpiece. |
| getting too much, too soon, so I said, wait a minute, I'm | | | | He lists his main influences as Louis Armstrong, |
| going to do it my way. I wasn't going to let people push | | | | Coleman Hawkins, Louis Jordan and Fats Waller. |