Humble Genius

One of the few survivors of the bebop era — which spawned the likes of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Charlie Parker — Harlem-born saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins is among the most influential jazz performers of his generation. He is also his own worst critic. During two time periods (1959 to 1961 and 1966 to 1971), he completely withdrew from the music scene to work on his craft. In addition, there are precious few live recordings available, mostly because Rollins believes them to be below par.

Lucky for us, every once in a while Rollins allows some of these tunes to surface. This past December, he released Road Shows Vol. 1 (Emarcy), a collection of previously unreleased live cuts that includes gems such as "Tenor Madness" and “Some Enchanted Evening," the latter recorded during a 2007 Carnegie Hall concert with two musicians who are legendary figures in their own right — Christian McBride on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. expect to hear these and many other songs that have marked this living jazz legend's 50-year career.
Sat., April 18, 8 p.m., 2009