Why this tune?
This week’s tune is a tribute to the life and work of the “saxophone colossus” Sonny Rollins, who passed on May 25. He recorded over 60 albums as a leader and composed several standards of the jazz repertoire including “Oleo,” “Doxy” and “Airegin.” He was the last surviving musician from the iconic 1958 photo “A Great Day in Harlem.” Rollins retired from music in 2014.
Rollins was born in New York City to parents who had both moved there from what is now the US Virgin Islands. He included many songs of the Caribbean in his work, including his most famous piece “St. Thomas,” a tribute to his island roots adapted from a Caribbean folk song also recorded by Randy Weston as “Fire Down There.” I recorded a short medley of “St. Thomas” and another Caribbean song recorded by Rollins, “Hold Em Joe” from his 1965 album “Sonny Rollins on Impulse!” From St. Croix, a celebration of the Caribbean roots of one of the giants of our music. May his memory be a blessing.
Tunes On Tuesday Reel
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Sonny Rollins: Hold Em Joe
Sonny Rollins: St. Thomas