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Hardbopjazz

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Posts posted by Hardbopjazz

  8. Saxophone Colossus - The Life And Music Of Sonny Rollins

    in Jazz In Print - Periodicals, Books, Newspapers, etc...

    Posted · Edited by Hardbopjazz

    The book is out in a few days.

    https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/aidan-levy/saxophone-colossus/9780306902796/#

     

    This long-awaited first full biography of legendary jazz saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins chronicles the gripping story of a freedom fighter and spiritual seeker whose life has been as much of a thematic improvisation as his music.

    Sonny Rollins has long been considered an enigma. Known as the “Saxophone Colossus,” he is widely acknowledged as the greatest living jazz improviser, having won Grammys, the Austrian Cross of Honor, Sweden’s Polar Music Prize and a National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama. He is one of our last links to the golden age of jazz—one of only two remaining musicians pictured in the iconic “Great Day in Harlem” portrait. His colossal seven-decade career has been well documented, but the backstage life of the man once called “the only jazz recluse” has gone largely untold—until now.
     
    Based on more than 200 interviews with Rollins himself, family members, friends, and collaborators, as well as Rollins’ extensive personal archive, Saxophone Colossus is the comprehensive portrait of this living legend, tireless civil rights activist and environmentalist. A child of the Harlem Renaissance, Rollins’ precocious talent quickly landed him on the bandstand and in the recording studio with Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, or playing opposite Billie Holiday. He became an icon in his own right, recording fifteen albums as a leader in a staggering three-year span, including Tenor Madness, featuring John Coltrane; Way Out West, which established the pianoless trio; Freedom Suite, the first civil rights-themed album of the hard bop era; A Night at the Village Vanguard, which put the storied jazz venue on the map; and the 1956 classic Saxophone Colossus.
     
    Yet his meteoric rise to fame was not without its challenges. He served a ten-month sentence on Rikers Island and faced a battle with heroin addiction, which he eventually conquered after voluntary treatment at the “Narcotic Farm” in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1959, Rollins began a two-year sabbatical from recording and performing, practicing up to 16 hours a day on the Williamsburg Bridge, which has since inspired a campaign to rename the bridge in his honor. In 1968, he took another sabbatical to study at an ashram in India. With the help of his wife and manager Lucille, Rollins returned to performing from 1971 until his retirement in 2012. 
     
    The story of Sonny Rollins—innovative, unpredictable, larger than life—is the story of jazz itself, and Sonny’s own narrative is as timeless and timely as the art form he represents. Part jazz oral history told in the musicians’ own words, part chronicle of one man’s quest for social justice and spiritual enlightenment, this exhaustively researched account pulses with the rhythm and pathos of a literary novel and the depth and insight of a serious scholarly study. This is the definitive biography of one of the most enduring and influential artists in jazz and American history.    

     

  12. Is this really the first designed record cover?

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted

    21 hours ago, HutchFan said:

    Hbj - I'd be interested to know if that was.  Just curious: Where did you find this image?

    Also, where the image above says "record cover," does it mean a cover for a single 78 rpm disc?  Or are we talking about the cover of an album of 78 rpm discs?

    Because I'd imagine that the date for those two things might be different. 

    I was perusing some Facebook group on album covers. This was cited as being the first album that contained artwork. 

  18. Columbia Records Reverb on Vocalists

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted

    Sometimes too much reverb on Bennett, Mathis and Andy Williams.  I always wondered why Reverbed was looked at as something that needed to be added. Sometimes it’s so intense it feels as if I’m in a tunnel listening to music or an empty shopping mall with music playing over the sound system.  Is there an industry reason why reverb was used so much?  

  20. A love supreme goes platinum after 56 years.

    in Miscellaneous Music

    Posted

    A platinum record sells 1 million copies I believe. Took a while but all good things are worth waiting for.

     


    JOHN COLTRANE 'A LOVE SUPREME' CERTIFIED PLATINUM

    IN THE US!

     

    John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ has been certified Platinum in the US. After 56 years, one of the most celebrated and iconic records in jazz history goes platinum – John Coltrane’s first ever platinum record.

    image linked to A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle
    s.gif

    A LOVE SUPREME - MASTERCUT

     

     

    In celebration of John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ going platinum, you can now get a special limited edition ‘A Love Supreme’ Mastercut. Each record is cut from the original analog source master, one by one, without any digital interference, compression or compromise onto the finest lacquer blanks from Japan. Get your unique, numbered custom package today – one of only 999 to be manufactured in the world, with 500 exclusive to the US.

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