Podcast: A Celebration of Sonny Rollins

On Sept. 19 I had to good fortune to attend a memorial service/concert titled A Celebration of the Life and Music of Sonny Rollins at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Harlem. This was presented in partnership with the Rollins family as well as the Jazz Foundation of America. More than 40 of the world’s top jazz musicians showed up to pay tribute to Sonny, and there were about a dozen tributes from Sonny’s friends, families, peers, and mentees. It was an honor to be there. On this podcast, I describe the experience of being at the memorial service and tribute, and I play Sonny’s versions of some of the songs that were played by the musicians at the service in his honor, including classics such as Alfie’s Theme, Tenor Madness, Freedom Suite, Oleo, The Bridge, St. Thomas and several others. Featured musicians include Sonny Rollins, George Cables, Bob Cranshaw, David Lee, Jack De Johnette, Arthur Jenkins, Yoshiaki Masuo, James Mtume, Henry Grimes, Pete LaRoca, Tony Williams, Mark…

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