Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins
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- Create Date：2022-12-28 18:21:29
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Aidan Levy
- ISBN：0306902796
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Summary
The long-awaited first full biography of legendary jazz saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins has long been considered an enigma。 Known as the “Saxophone Colossus，” he is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz improvisers of all time， winning Grammys， the Austrian Cross of Honor， Sweden’s Polar Music Prize and a National Medal of Arts。 A bridge from bebop to the avant-garde， he is a lasting link to the golden age of jazz， pictured in the iconic “Great Day in Harlem” portrait。 His 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 legendary saxophonist and composer， civil rights activist and environmentalist。 A child of the Harlem Renaissance， Rollins’ precocious talent 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。 An icon in his own right， he recorded Tenor Madness， featuring John Coltrane; Way Out West; Freedom Suite， the first civil rights-themed album of the hard bop era; A Night at the Village Vanguard; and the 1956 classic Saxophone Colossus。
Yet his meteoric rise to fame was not without its challenges。 He served two sentences on Rikers Island and won his battle with heroin addiction。 In 1959， Rollins took a two-year sabbatical from recording and performing， practicing up to 16 hours a day on the Williamsburg Bridge。 In 1968， he left again to study at an ashram in India。 He 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 is the definitive biography of one of the most enduring and influential artists in jazz and American history。
Sonny Rollins has long been considered an enigma。 Known as the “Saxophone Colossus，” he is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz improvisers of all time， winning Grammys， the Austrian Cross of Honor， Sweden’s Polar Music Prize and a National Medal of Arts。 A bridge from bebop to the avant-garde， he is a lasting link to the golden age of jazz， pictured in the iconic “Great Day in Harlem” portrait。 His 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 legendary saxophonist and composer， civil rights activist and environmentalist。 A child of the Harlem Renaissance， Rollins’ precocious talent 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。 An icon in his own right， he recorded Tenor Madness， featuring John Coltrane; Way Out West; Freedom Suite， the first civil rights-themed album of the hard bop era; A Night at the Village Vanguard; and the 1956 classic Saxophone Colossus。
Yet his meteoric rise to fame was not without its challenges。 He served two sentences on Rikers Island and won his battle with heroin addiction。 In 1959， Rollins took a two-year sabbatical from recording and performing， practicing up to 16 hours a day on the Williamsburg Bridge。 In 1968， he left again to study at an ashram in India。 He 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 is the definitive biography of one of the most enduring and influential artists in jazz and American history。
Reviews
Dan
，
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for the an advanced copy of this magisterial biography on a true legend and leader in music history。 Some people are destined to for greatness， but only a few except their greatness and never let it ruin them， always practicing， always seeking， never letting the ego infect what makes them great。 Sonny Rollins， saxophone player， influencer， teacher， band leader， student and master is one of these people。 A man who practiced everyday， so My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for the an advanced copy of this magisterial biography on a true legend and leader in music history。 Some people are destined to for greatness， but only a few except their greatness and never let it ruin them， always practicing， always seeking， never letting the ego infect what makes them great。 Sonny Rollins， saxophone player， influencer， teacher， band leader， student and master is one of these people。 A man who practiced everyday， sometimes for hours， dealing with health issues， addiction， racism， and his own sense of worth and critical view of his own performances an talents。 For over seventy years Rollins has blown his horn with a power and assuredness that many could never contemplate， blowing younger talents， sometimes with bigger mouths than skills， off the stage while giving back as much as Rollins felt he received。 Rollins has seen friends， comrades， brothers and sister， lovers and others transition to another world， while he remains with his music his only constant。 Aidan Levy in his book Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins has captured not just the life of this man， but the soul of this positive creative genius one that will shine on， as long as music is listened to。Walter Theodore Rollins was born in the year 1930， in the city of New York， the youngest of three children to a West Indian family。 Talent ran in the family， as all of the siblings played music and did well academically， except for Rollins who had more of a taste of the street and people than books and learning。 After high school， Rollins began to play out more and more with his saxophone， moving from alto to tenor， and winning spots in bands， and recording with jazz luminaries like Bud Powell， a lifelong friend， and Fats Navvaro。 However Rollins was also picking up bad habits， such as heroin， which led to some poor decisions， and jail time in 1950。 Losing his ability to play shows in New York because of his police record， Rollins began to travel and developing his style and finally try to beat heroin for good。 Slowly he began to make his name appearing on Best of lists for both his style and his albums。 And Rollins was only getting started。 I could go on， as Sonny Rollins has lived a life in full， with ups downs， and magic moments， all covered in this amazing book。 I can not remember the last time I was this enthralled in a biography， nor felt that I learned so much， not just about the subject， but by the world he inhabited。 So much more than jazz is covered in this book。 Religion， social issues， racism， poverty， prison and drug laws。 Levy has done a fantastic job of research， bringing together Rolllins， his inner and outer world， his creativity， and those that helped bring it out of him。 The book is wonderfully sourced， and the writing is really quite good。 There was never a time I felt overwhelmed or thought， why are we talking about the Rosicrucians， what does this have to do with Sonny Rollins。 Well everything。 Levy presents the whole man， when he makes mistakes， mean， addicted， wrong， right， and at peace。 For jazz fans， and for people who like books on music。 This is also a biography for people who love to read about complicated， gifted people， who accomplish great things。 There is so much in here， so many good stories， so many sad stories。 Sonny Rollins has lived an incredible life， I am glad that he found a biographer good enough to capture it。 I can't wait to read more by Aidan Levy， and lister more to Sonny Rollins。 。。。more
Martin
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This is one of the best biographies I’ve ever read。 Not just a narrative of the life of Sonny Rollins， but rather an immersion into the life of one of the greatest musicians ever。 Highly recommended
Steven
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This is a monumental bio of a great musician。 The cultural context which it is set in provides a deep and moving picture of life in the 50's as it was for black musicians。 This one of the best bios of a musician I have ever read。 Mr。 Levy has done a magnificent job。 For any jazz or music fan this is a must read。 This is a monumental bio of a great musician。 The cultural context which it is set in provides a deep and moving picture of life in the 50's as it was for black musicians。 This one of the best bios of a musician I have ever read。 Mr。 Levy has done a magnificent job。 For any jazz or music fan this is a must read。 。。。more
Holly Taggart
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Excellent read！ Excellent overview of the music of Sonny Rollins！Aiden Levy has done a very thorough review of the life and music of Sonny Rollins。 I am not quite sure how he did it， but he seems to review almost every performance （clearly he couldn't have） sharing all sorts of small details that make the scene come alive for the reader。 As I read， I found myself going to look up different performers， and actual performances on youtube just to see exactly what the author was writing about。 I gr Excellent read！ Excellent overview of the music of Sonny Rollins！Aiden Levy has done a very thorough review of the life and music of Sonny Rollins。 I am not quite sure how he did it， but he seems to review almost every performance （clearly he couldn't have） sharing all sorts of small details that make the scene come alive for the reader。 As I read， I found myself going to look up different performers， and actual performances on youtube just to see exactly what the author was writing about。 I grew up in a household that loved jazz- and early on knew who Monk， Coletrane and Ornette were， but I have to say the name Sonny Rollins was often tossed around as if he was kind of an afterthought， "Of course Sonny Rollins was there。" The book expanded my knowledge about Rollins and the development of modern jazz and also my knowledge of the political/racial climate through Sonny's personal experiences。 While Levy touches on these topics-with clear explanations， the book itself does not fall into a treatise on social justice or political will， it merely points out the issues at hand that informed the jazz of the day， and how it encouraged or detracted from the music。 The main focus， - as would be the main focus of Sonny Rollins- is the music itself。This is a book that belongs on the shelf of not just jazz aficionados， but any music lover。 Levy shows in great detail the dedication to the craft that jazz musicians have， their ability to use and borrow from all styles of music and incorporate them into their own performances， that then influence other musical genres so that jazz gives back to even those that don't consider themselves jazz lovers。It is densely packed with facts， figures， stories and opinions， all of which come together to create an immensely absorbing and readable study of Rollins。 I highly recommend。 。。。more
J Earl
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