Sonny Rollins, arguably jazz’s greatest living legend, will celebrate his 95th birthday on Sept 7. Born in New York City, Rollins came to prominence in the early 1950s performing with artists like Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Quartet. He experienced drug addiction and jail time before setting his life and career straight. His 1956 recording Saxophone Colossus, with its immortal opening track “St. Thomas,” formed a pivotal turn in an epic jazz career.
True to that album’s sobriquet, Rollins has always been known as a powerful and intensely cerebral tenor saxophonist. He was as effective with deep experimentation, as showcased on recordings like his 1966 album East Broadway Run Down, as he was with emotional readings of tender ballads, like a version of Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr.’s “God Bless the Child” from his 1962 release The Bridge. That title, which arrived after a self-imposed exile (not his last), referenced Rollins’ habit of practicing in public on the Williamsburg Bridge, which would set off a trail of mythology that would follow him for his entire life.
Myths aside, Rollins remained an active and prolific musician until 2012, after which he stopped performing in public. His one-of-a-kind playing and unwavering dedication to his craft has made him an inspiration to a countless number of jazz musicians over the last 75 years.
Too often, dedications and tributes to musical legends come when they are no longer with us — and in some instances, after a re-examination of their work that was not properly appreciated during their lifetimes. Sonny Rollins is still with us, the last of his era. His stature as a jazz icon has only grown (and deepened, thanks to scholarship like a commanding biography and a published volume of his notebooks). But Rollins has fortunately also experienced an incredible amount of success and enjoyed many accolades during his lifetime.
At WRTI, we are thrilled to celebrate the life and music of this living legend this month, kicking things off today with a special edition of The Late Set with Josh Jackson and Nate Chinen joined by on-air hosts Nicole Sweeney, Bob Craig, J. Michael Harrison (whose show, The Bridge, is in part a tribute to the Rollins song by that name), and Julian Booker to discuss some of their favorite Sonny Rollins recordings and the impact that his music has had on their appreciation of jazz.
From Thursday evening through early Monday morning, WRTI will feature Sonny Rollins’ music through much of our jazz programming, including:
- Evening Jazz
- Late Evening Jazz
- Jazz Through the Night
- The Friday Mixtape
- The Get Down
- Spirit Soul Music
- Sunday Jazz Brunch
- The Standard
And on Wednesday, Sept. 24, we will partner with our friends at the Free Library of Philadelphia for their monthly Vinyl Record Listening Club! The event, which runs from 5:30-7:30 p.m., will feature a playlist curated by the WRTI staff, co-hosted by Julian Booker and Free Library music department librarian Jane Lippman. All attendees are also invited to bring their favorite Sonny Rollins records to be included in the playlist. RSVP here for the free event.
Join us on The Late Set, on the air or at the library as we celebrate a giant of jazz!
