[Dixielandjazz] Sonny Rollins

[Cebuisle2 at aol.com]

I read all the way through Steve's post on Rolljns, no mean feat!  The 
interview was a lot more interesting than his playing during the first  and last 
time I heard him. 
I was in Baltimore. visiting a girl friend at the med school . She asked  
what kind of music I liked, and I said "jazz." Should have been more  specific.
We went to a small club with tables pushed up against each other. Sonny  
Rollins was the feature. Paid the fee, ordered the drinks, and listened to him  
with a four piece combo. At the conclusion of the number, his band mates walked  
off the stage. Rollins then proceeded to play a sax solo for a least  fifteen 
minutes, running scales (or so it seemed) and honking his way along,  mostly 
with his back to the few patrons in the place. 
I couldn't find any jazz in the performance, and the one man show was not  
entertaining or even swinging. Don't know how long he kept that up, as my girl  
and I left and looked for other forms of entertainment.
 
Nonetheless, some folks call it  "jazz"                           Regards to 
all, Ted