Gary Giddins interviews Sonny Rollins
April 14, 2008 | CUNY Lecture Series, Graduate Center
Jazz giant Sonny Rollins is routinely referred to as “the greatest living tenor saxophone” by his peers. National Book Award-winning jazz critic Gary Giddins has called him “jazz’s most provocatively enigmatic man.” The two come together in a rare conversation at the Graduate Center to talk about Rollins’ remarkable musical life, which has spanned six decades. Rollins, 77, recalls starting to play the sax at 7 years old and, by age 19, having recorded with such jazz legends as J.J. Johnson and Bud Powell. “I wasn’t intimidated by those guys,” says Rollins. “Somehow I always had a sense of my destiny.”
"I am a spiritual person to the extent that I understand what life is about, how difficult it is. And I know how difficult it is for me to kind of be the person I want to be, with better eating habits, better exercise habits, and most importantly, better Golden Rule habits towards other people. All these things, according to my spiritual belief, are important for the development of my soul."
(Source: sonnyrollins.com)
Sonny Rollins remembers Jackie McLean
