Sonny Rollins: Apollo concert.

[Hardbopjazz]

I couldn't make the event at the Apollo Thursday night. Did anyone happen to attend? What a great photo of Rollins and Fagan.

 

Edited October 24, 2015 by Hardbopjazz

[fasstrack]

Great photos!

[Cyril]

Yes indeed, very beautiful pictures!!

[mjzee]

https://www.yahoo.com/music/s/rollins-richards-featured-guests-jazz-foundation-benefit-060131775.html

[uli]

Sonny Rollins ‏@sonnyrollins 28m28 minutes ago

Some words from the Tribute presented by the Jazz Foundation of America

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hardbopjazz]

 Wow, Sonny got old.  It is Still good to have him amongst us.   Long live Sonny!

[JSngry]

Sonny naming names...those aren't just names of historical figures to him.

In a decent world, this man would be given first class (or better) accommodations worldwide just to allow him to talk to people in the flesh. Food, doctors, comfort, you got it, just let us experience you until it is no longer possible.

Because when it's gone, it's gone.

[Hardbopjazz]

Sonny naming names...those aren't just names of historical figures to him.

In a decent world, this man would be given first class (or better) accommodations worldwide just to allow him to talk to people in the flesh. Food, doctors, comfort, you got it, just let us experience you until it is no longer possible.

Because when it's gone, it's gone.

so true

[fasstrack]

I felt bad to read that Sonny was unsteady on his feet and needed help getting on and off the stage. I hope he's among us for some more years.

[Hardbopjazz]

Paul's Pal

 

 

[mjzee]

Great clip!  Thanks for posting.  I recognize Jimmy Heath and Al Foster.  Is that Buster Williams on bass?  And who's the trumpeter?

And what's with the backdrop?!?  It looks like Rand Paul with a rifle.

[Hardbopjazz]

Randy Brecker

and Buster Williams

[AllenLowe]

I do think Sonny is pretty well off these days, economically and otherwise. Now if he'd only find a decent rhythm section.....

[Al in NYC]

Good to see that Sonny could make it out, even if he couldn't play.  I understand he's been in somewhat rough shape recently. 

Also nice to see Jimmy Heath there, who's actually older than Sonny!

[Gheorghe]

all I can say I´m glad this Genius musician has given us so much. And almost from the first seconds when I got involved with jazz, he was and of course still is, one of my favourites.

I still remember those golden years of the late 70´s - early 80´, when you could meet guys on the street, discussing recent or forthcoming Sonny Rollins Albums.......yeah.... that was the great times.

Rollins with Genius Drummers like Tony Williams, Al Foster, the golden Era of the Milestone Jazzlabel, all those great albums,

and I´ll never forget the first time I saw him live, I don´t remember the piano player, but the great Jerome Harris was on bass, and the Master of drums himself, Al Foster.

And just a few weeks before, he had recorded that album featuring Larry Coryell...... "Don´t Ask", that´s the title of it........

[Hardbopjazz]

On 11/5/2015, 1:39:48, Gheorghe said:

all I can say I´m glad this Genius musician has given us so much. And almost from the first seconds when I got involved with jazz, he was and of course still is, one of my favourites.

I still remember those golden years of the late 70´s - early 80´, when you could meet guys on the street, discussing recent or forthcoming Sonny Rollins Albums.......yeah.... that was the great times.

Rollins with Genius Drummers like Tony Williams, Al Foster, the golden Era of the Milestone Jazzlabel, all those great albums,

and I´ll never forget the first time I saw him live, I don´t remember the piano player, but the great Jerome Harris was on bass, and the Master of drums himself, Al Foster.

And just a few weeks before, he had recorded that album featuring Larry Coryell...... "Don´t Ask", that´s the title of it........

Mark Soskin on piano?

[JSngry]

I've been listening to Don't Ask a lot the last few weeks, and now that I don't really have the need for it to be any kind of a thing other than what it was (and so many of them were)...I can't say it's a "damn fine record", it's far from that, but I can say with the fullest possible conviction there is some damn good Sonny Rollins on it.

I mean, the title answers all questions..like, why is Larry Coryell on here doing this - Don't Ask. etc.

But, and this is where it either matters to you or it doesn't, and if not, oh well, see you someplace else at some other time, we can catch up there, and then, but there is nobody else who can play the tenor like that neither physically nor metaphysically, and, yeah, damn straight you're gonna miss him when he's gone, because that's one kind of hope that will have finally died right in front of you ears.

There is more space being occupied and moved by that man's sound than any microphone can hold.

And i don't care, fuck the court popular of jazz opinion, this is some of the greatest jazz tenor playing ever, especially since it's not a particularly great "jazz record".

 

[mjzee]

"Don't Ask" was of its time.  No need to apologize; it's a fine record.  And Coryell is good on it.

I (again) recommend "Silver City," which would definitely spur a re-evaluation of Sonny's Milestone years.

Edited November 7, 2015 by mjzee

[JSngry]

Neither apologies nor justifications for a record like Don't Ask. It's really not a fine record of its time or any other time. The mix is weird, the material is sometimes shaky, Coryell is totally irrelevant to anything, and other than "Harlem Boys" not one cut on the record has a natural flow to it from start to finish. But there are enough moments of Sonny Rollins playing music that was - and still is - something that only Sonny Rollins could play to where...I gotta hear it. Becuase there's no other way to hear that.

I've got every album that Sonny ever made, including more than a few that he didn't know he was making. If the argument is to be - as many have made it - that Sonny Rollins ceased being relevant because he stopped making "good records", then oh well, yeah, ok, game over, almost. +3, Falling In Love With Jazz, maybe Global Warming, "stopped" is not an accurate word.

But that's really not an argument worth having now, really. That was an argument to have in that time, and t got made, and if it was an ultimately cheap argument then, at least it was relevant in terms of one vision of the future, hopefully, maybe, tell me that Reel Life is not all that's left, please tell me. but that time is over. There are likely to be many more new Sonny Rollins records, but no new Sonny Rollins music. No time to waste on thinking in terms of "Sonny Rollins records", they are what they are and they always will be, all of them.

But I'd rather listen to an off-ish Sonny Rollins record than a "great" record by somebody who's just playing notes that immediately go back where they came from, i.e.. - from nowhere in particular. And the cool part is that there are actually some of those Milestone records that are pretty damn fine pretty much all the way through, so...bonus points!

If the point/effect of a Hank Mobley record like Breakthrough is to finally spill all the blood once and for all, remove all doubt that, no, I'm not doing alright, thanks for not asking, then a Sonny Rollins record like Don't Ask it's...don't ask. Not as in "if you have to ask, don't" nearly as much as it is just...don't...ask, you already know, and no, you're not mistaken. But I'm here, ain't I? And I'm playing, ain't I? And can't nobody else be me but me,ain't that the truth? So why the hell am I making records like this? Why the hell do you ask?

[mjzee]

I think that argument would make sense if Don't Ask were a one-off, or something like Grant Green's Easy.  But Sonny went on to make many records like Don't Ask, so his heart really was in it.  When he moved to more "straight-ahead" albums such as +3, it's because that's what he wanted to do then.  Sonny trying to be "relevant" - I like that.  And he was much better at it than Miles Davis was.

As for the mix, blame that on Fantasy's Berkeley studio.  Really flat, wooden sound; hated it then, and still do.

In Hardbopjazz's first post, can we ID the people in the photographs?

First photo: Donald Fagen and Sonny.

Second photo: Benny Golson and... Renee Fleming?

Third photo: George Cables and Jimmy Heath.

Fourth photo: Billy Harper?  And who else?

Fifth photo: ??

Sixth photo: ?????

Seventh photo: Jimmy Heath in the center.  Who else?

Eighth photo: Sonny in the center.  Who else?

 

Edited November 7, 2015 by mjzee

[JSngry]

57 minutes ago, mjzee said:

I think that argument would make sense if Don't Ask were a one-off, or something like Grant Green's Easy.  But Sonny went on to make many records like Don't Ask, so his heart really was in it.  When he moved to more "straight-ahead" albums such as +3, it's because that's what he wanted to do then.  Sonny trying to be "relevant" - I like that.  And he was much better at it than Miles Davis was.

 

 

The issue was never was his heart in his playing the question was whether he could ever get a good record made...some of the worse records, like Nucleus, have some of the most neckbreaking good playings on them...and then something like This Is How I feel, god, they used Lee Ritenoir for crissakes, and they got a record that sounded good, but lord, what shit music,...better was Love at First Sight, which was essentially Don't Ask with Stanley Clarke in the role of Larry Coryell.and without the benefit of a hidden piece of perfection like "Harlem Boys"..and then there was No Problem with Hutch and Tony, not much of a record, but, you know, you're sittng there all hhhhhmmmmmy, and them BOOM there come one of those moments, and,,,NO PROBLEM! So it got to where the records were bought for the moments, not got the record as a whole, "Have You Seeen Harold Vick", good good, tht thing exists entirely becuse there is no other way for it to exist no nobody else to house its lif...and is there a narrative for hat? Probably not.

I got Sonny Please on my TV now, on Amazon Music, and shit, that thing is pretty dangerous, the title tune in particular, and no need for Larrydon coryell then or now, ok?

[dicky]

15 hours ago, mjzee said:

In Hardbopjazz's first post, can we ID the people in the photographs?

Fourth photo: Billy Harper?  And who else?
James Carter & Bill "Big Daddy" Saxton

Fifth photo: ??
Ravi Coltrane & James Carter

Seventh photo: Jimmy Heath in the center.  Who else?
Patience Higgins & Ron Holloway

Eighth photo: Sonny in the center.  Who else?
JC & Holloway

[Gheorghe]

On 7.11.2015 02:44:59, Hardbopjazz said:

Mark Soskin on piano?

Yeah, I´m sure it was Mark Soskin, he was the piano player who usually would tour with Sonny during that time.

[danasgoodstuff]

On 11/7/2015, 12:41:29, dicky said:

Fourth photo: Billy Harper?  And who else?
James Carter & Bill "Big Daddy" Saxton

Fifth photo: ??
Ravi Coltrane & James Carter

Seventh photo: Jimmy Heath in the center.  Who else?
Patience Higgins & Ron Holloway

Eighth photo: Sonny in the center.  Who else?
JC & Holloway

James Carter's suit and sax seem so carefully color co-ordinated that I have to wonder if he has different saxes for different suits, or vice versa?