Colossus: Sonny Rollins, 7th September 1930 - 25th May 2026
Before Sonny Rollins became “Saxophone Colossus,” Miles Davis had already understood what was in front of him.
On 29 June 1954, at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Hackensack, Miles recorded a Prestige session with Rollins, Horace Silver, Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke. Three of the four tunes were Sonny Rollins originals: “Oleo,” “Doxy” and “Airegin.” They were not treated like sideman contributions. They became jazz standards.
This was Rollins in his twenties.
By 1956, he had recorded Tenor Madness, the only known studio recording where Rollins and John Coltrane played together. A month later came Saxophone Colossus. “St. Thomas,” its best-known tune, was not a fashionable calypso borrowing. It came from a melody his mother had sung to him as a child, carried from the Virgin Islands into one of jazz’s most recognisable recordings.
Then, at the height of his reputation, Rollins disappeared.
From the summer of 1959 to the autumn of 1961, he stopped performing publicly and practised almost every day on the Williamsburg Bridge. He chose the bridge partly because he did not want to disturb a pregnant neighbour. Above the East River, next to the subway tracks, he worked for hours on tone, breath, harmony and endurance. When he returned, the album was called The Bridge. The title was literal.
In 1968, Rollins came to Bombay and stayed in Powai at Swami Chinmayananda’s ashram. He studied Vedanta, the Upanishads and the Yoga Sutras. The influence showed up less in specific musical borrowings than in the reflective, exploratory character of his later work.
Ten years later, he returned for Jazz Yatra 1978 at Rang Bhavan, playing “Don’t Stop the Carnival,” “Autumn Nocturne,” and “St. Thomas.” For local listeners, it was the return of a musician who had once come here to step away from the world.
His passing on 25 May 2026 at the age of 95, leaves behind a huge gap in jazz that no one else can fill. The search he embodied- patient, restless, never satisfied with easy answers, belonged to him alone.
To remember and honour his legacy, we’re listening to Sonny Rollins’ records at The Revolver Club this Saturday, 20th June, from 7 PM to 9 PM.
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