R.I.P. Sonny Rollins

The Saxophone Colossus and inspiration to us all passed yesterday at age 95

I feel blessed to have witnessed Sonny Rollins in concert on so many special occasions. There was his solo sax performance at the Museum of Modern Art on July 19, 1985, where he strolled the sculpture garden outdoors, occasionally catching the pitch of a passing ambulance or cop car and instantly doubling it and harmonizing with it. It was the single greatest act of pure improvisational genius that I had ever witnessed up to that time.

A month later at the Chicago Jazz Festival on Aug. 28, 1985, while performing at the Petrillo Bandshell in Grant Park, he had even the most curmudgeonly jazz critics in the press section dancing their asses off to his joyful calypso set-closer, “Don’t Stop the Carnival.”

There was his memorable performance at Tramps on April 12, 1997 and his unforgettable 80th birthday celebration on Sept. 10, 2010 at the Beacon Theater, where he was joined by special guest Ornette Coleman on a bluesy and swinging “Sonnymoon for Two,” backed by Christian McBride and Roy Haynes, that eventually headed to more avant garde territory halfway through the marathon 21-minute version. And it was interesting to see how much Ornette’s playing really affected Sonny and opened him up on that extended jam.

Perhaps most moving was Sonny’s appearance at the Ornette Coleman Tribute at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn on June 12, 2014. Sonny couldn’t play anymore but he kicked off the all-star concert with some heartfelt words, paying respect to his peer: “I’m going to say something that Ornette already said to me: It’s all good. Don’t worry about anything. We might not see it right now, but it’s all good.” It is indeed, Mr. Rollins. R.I.P.