Sonny Rollins

There is, and will always be, but one Sonny Rollins.

A man of slightly more than average height and weight who seems much taller and larger, a musician who rarely stands still, either aesthetically or in performance, a tenor saxophonist possessing a remarkable rhythmic intuition and melodic vocabulary, Rollins is an intriguing, invigorating, inventive artist whom many have called the jazz world's greatest living improviser.

There is a plethora of evidence to support such a claim. Rollins's magisterial power has been documented in performances and/or recordings with the giants and near-giants of jazz, among them Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Clifford Brown, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, and Elvin Jones. The self-effacing Rollins describes himself at his best: "I've reached some pretty good heights, special times when the music plays itself and you're just there."

Rollins has made close to 50 albums as a leader, starting with early-Fifties Prestige sides that still raise hairs on your neck. Rollins's captivating prowess is likewise present on such classics as Saxophone Colossus (1956), Way Out West (1957), A Night at the Village Vanguard (1958), The Bridge (1962), Don't Stop the Carnival (1978) and Old Flames (1993). His latest Milestone effort, Sonny Rollins Plus 3, enriches this bountiful body of work.

Born in New York City on September 7, 1930 to music-loving parents of West Indian ancestry, Sonny Rollins first studied piano then turned to saxophone when, on a visit to his uncle's, he saw a gleaming horn lying in a case. "It was love at first sight," he says. Soon he had a tenor saxophone, and by the time he was 19, his career had begun its rocket-like ascent. First, on January 20, 1949, he recorded with bebop singer Babs Gonzales, then in May with primal bebop trombonist J.J. Johnson, who also paid Rollins the tribute of recording the tenorman's "Audubon" on that Savoy Records session. Also in 1949, Rollins was in the Blue Note studios, recording with the bebop great Powell and Navarro, that genre's finest trumpet exponent.

The early Fifties found Rollins working and recording with trumpeter Davis, altoists Parker and Jackie McLean, pianist Monk, vibist Milt Jackson, and others. Then he stepped out as leader, establishing his presence with a superb series of recordings for Prestige Records, all collected in the 7-CD set The Complete Prestige Recordings and highlighted by such classics as Tenor Madness and Saxophone Colossus. The latter was made in 1956, and between then and 1959, when Rollins took an unexpected sabbatical from performing, he was at a zenith, a peak documented by such albums as Freedom Suite and A Night at the Village Vanguard. During this period he also recorded with Monk, and was a member of the Brown-Roach quintet, one of the stellar bands of jazz.

Rollins's sabbatical he left performing because he was dissatisfied with his playing is still controversial. He lived on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, kept to himself, and practiced on the Williamsburg Bridge to avoid disturbing neighbors. "I did what I wanted to do," he says. "It was a way of controlling my own destiny."

Returning to performing in 1962, Rollins's first album, The Bridge the title bears an obvious reference to his absence was magnificent and featured guitarist Jim Hall. Soon Rollins was embracing the so-called avant-garde, leading a quartet that featured the late Don Cherry and drummer Billy Higgins, both of whom were associated with maverick saxman Ornette Coleman. Interestingly, when Rollins recorded with his idol, saxman Hawkins, on Sonny Meets Hawk in 1963, he played with free-form abandon, a style in direct opposition to Hawk's tightly-structured harmony. In 1966 he recorded a strictly jazz-based score for the film Alfie, and in 1969 took another sabbatical, this time traveling to India and studying yoga.

In 1972 Rollins once again decided to pursue active playing. He greatly expanded his repertoire. He offered pop-based tunes and tunes that had a funk beat, along with his de rigueur standards, straight-ahead tunes, and calypsos Rollins is one of the first jazz musicians to explore this fertile musical territory, and is, with Dizzy Gillespie, one of jazz's first purveyors of world music. He has kept to this pattern through the Nineties; such Milestone albums as Nucleus; Sunny Days, Starry Nights; G-Man (a live recording); and Dancing in the Dark are fine examples from this musically healthy period.

1996's Sonny Rollins Plus 3 finds Rollins once again investigating the familiar tenor saxophone/acoustic piano/bass/drums format. "I hadn't done it in a long time," says the jazz giant. "I had to see if I still could. It's just me out there."

Backed by two trios, one featuring pianist Tommy Flanagan, the other with up-and-comer Stephen Scott, Rollins offers a program that in many ways is an overview to his life and career. He tackles such evergreens as "Cabin in the Sky," "Mona Lisa," and "What a Difference a Day Made," tributes to Ethel Waters, Nat Cole, and Dinah Washington, respectively.

"Biji," with its swing-then-back-beat rhythms, is a shortened version of Rollins's "ancestral" name, Brungbiji. "It just came to me," he says. "H.S." is a swinger dedicated to pianist Horace Silver; "They Say It's Wonderful" and "I've Never Been in Love Before" are tunes Rollins heard during his youth.

The album also spotlights bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummers Al Foster and Jack DeJohnette.

Sonny Rollins works about 50 engagements a year; in 1996, he'll travel to Europe, and play concerts and festivals in the U.S. His final concert for 1995 was a grand success: joined by such Fifties partners as Jackie McLean, MJQ bassist Percy Heath and pianist Walter Bishop, Jr., Rollins sold out the Beacon Theater in New York, a hall known for its rock events. "That meant a lot to me, to sell it out," he says. "It shows that straight-ahead jazz is still viable."

Never one to rest on past achievements, Rollins continues to look toward the future. He practices every day when at home in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, "trying to keep my chops up," he says. He calls himself "a survivor of jazz's illustrious period," and as one of the last of that era, he always wants to portray it with honor.

"I get a little leeway for being who I am," he says, "but I still have to be good when people pay their money. It's an okay challenge. I'm still yearning to get to my peak, and I haven't reached that point yet."