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Rifftides

Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

Sonny Is 76

Yesterday was Sonny Rollins’s 76th birthday. He celebrated it, in part, by installing on his website nine video clips of performances over forty-nine years, beginning in 1957. They comprise a fascinating tour of his career. They will be accessible for six more days. Among the sidemen are Henry Grimes, Joe Harris, Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, Niels Henning Orsted-Pedersen, Al Foster, Kenny Drew, George Duke, Stanley Clarke and Jack DeJohnette. Unfortunately, there is nothing of his early 1960s quartet with Jim Hall, but it would be churlish to complain in the face of such riches. You will see and hear a “Moritat” (aka “Mack The Knife”) from Tokyo in 1981 that swings about as hard as anything can swing. To witness the performances, go to the Sonny Rollins website.

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Doug Ramsey

Doug is a recipient of the lifetime achievement award of the Jazz Journalists Association. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he settled following a career in print and broadcast journalism in cities including New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, … [MORE]

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