3/21/2023 0 Comments Saxophone colossus![]() Not settings that you'd consider conducive to lustrous music-making.īlumenthal descends into the shadows with Rollins, and we see how Rollins' insecurities led to fallow periods that consisted of much practicing, honing and overhauling. A spiritualist and a philosopher, he also waged his share of battles with drugs and the law, and spent time in an experimental methadone clinic and Rikers Island. Blumenthal, thankfully, is that rare jazz writer who is able to so thoroughly delineate the forces that drove Rollins - an idiosyncratic man, by any definition. The irony proved unsettling, and Rollins' confidence quickly dissipated. Oprah Winfrey buys another 870 acres of land in Hawaiiįor his part, Rollins claimed not to have any idea of what he was up to, technically, at least, until he read Schuller himself.Meta reportedly plans to sack thousands more after brutal November layoffs.He made kouign-amann famous in the Bay Area.What you'll pay if you accidentally use the new Bay Area express lane on Highway 101. ![]() ![]() Outdoor apparel brand Arc'teryx closes 2 Bay Area stores permanently.Horoscope for Tuesday, 3/07/23 by Christopher Renstrom.'Copious amounts of rainfall': Atmospheric river set to hit Bay Area.But Blumenthal brings the discussion around to Charlie Parker's similar chord-based experiments, in which popular songs are stripped back to their core, rhythmic structures, and cast anew, the very gambit that imbues "Blue 7" with a lot of its panache. Gunther Schuller - a critic with classical chops, who brought that knowledge to bear on jazz - went on famously about "Blue 7." For Blumenthal, the track falls "well short of providing unique melodic lines over fresh harmonic sequences." Somewhat of a downer, you might think, given that we're talking a reputed classic. Blumenthal has a knack, though, for teasing out the more subtle aspects of Rollins' compositional strengths, as when he dissects "Blue 7," the concluding track from "Saxophone Colossus." The long-standing view of Rollins, who celebrated his 80th birthday Tuesday, is that of a sublime performer - especially in concert - and a somewhat disappointing composer, given his standing in the jazz canon. But as veteran jazz critic and longtime Rollins observer Bob Blumenthal notes, "Saxophone Colossus" was but one career apotheosis for the shape-shifting Rollins, an artist who was a lot more chameleonic than even his fans tend to realize. There's a wry duality to "Saxophone Colossus," an artfully illustrated Sonny Rollins overview, which takes its title from the saxophonist's breakout 1956 album, with the song names from the record standing in for chapter headings. A Portrait of Sonny Rollins By John Abbott and Bob Blumenthal (Abrams 170 pages $35)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |