Rollins At 77

Sonny Rollins is seventy-seven years and three days old. I thought of acknowledging his birthday on Friday, but Rifftides traffic is down on weekends and I wanted to point more of you to his web site for previously unissued recordings of Rollins's work from 1956 with the Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet. The site will be playing a different piece each day now through September 18. Today's recording is identified as "Lover," and it is, harmonically, but the riffish melody is George Handy's "Diggin' Diz," first recorded by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie ten years earlier. Rollins is superb, but Brown--less than a month before he died in a car crash--is astounding. The piano solo by the underappreciated Richie Powell, who also died in the accident, is worth your attention.

Coming up on the Rollins site:

September 11: I'll Remember April
September 12: Jordu
September 13: Nice Work If You Can Get It
September 14: Get Happy
September 15: Take the 'A' Train
September 16: Darn That Dream
September 17: What's New
September 18: Lover Man

To hear "Diggin' Diz," click here and follow the easy instructions.

The Rollins site also offers a link to this piece of video from 1968, with Sonny, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Niels Henning Orsted-Pedersen and drummer Tootie Heath. Listen to Rollins's long opening cadenza and see if you can figure out what tune he's anticipating. The YouTube sidebar menu offers several other Rollins clips, including three of his quartet with Jim Hall.

Happy post-birthday, Sonny.