Tag Archives | sonny rollins
Rename the Williamsburg Bridge as the Sonny Rollins Williamsburg Bridge
Sign the petition here to have the Williamsburg bridge renamed the Sonny Rollins bridge here
Support renaming the Williamsburg Bridge as the Sonny Rollins Williamsburg Bridge in honor of an outstanding New Yorker, the jazz legend Sonny Rollins, who practiced daily on the Williamsburg Bridge from the summer of 1959 to the fall of 1961. At that time, Mr. Rollins was living at 400 Grand Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and through reflection and discipline, adjusted his path and purpose, becoming a model of self-determination and resilience for all New Yorkers.
About the Williamsburg Bridge:
The Williamsburg Bridge is one of the major crossings of the East River, carrying approximately 140,000 motorists, 92,000 transit riders, 600 cyclists, and 500 pedestrians daily between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and serving some of the busiest arteries in New York City. Currently, the bridge carries four two-lane vehicular roadways, a south roadway (inner and outer) and north roadway (inner and outer), with two rapid transit tracks (J, M, and Z subway lines) in between. A walkway and a bikeway also run across the bridge.
About Sonny Rollins:
Sonny Rollins is a jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who has been making music for over six decades. Born in Harlem in 1930, Mr. Rollins is a musical pioneer who has helped jazz bridge the different eras of bebop, hard bop, fusion, free jazz, avant-garde, and post bop. He is considered by many to be the greatest improviser to have ever lived. Rollins is currently 87 years and a living legend from the golden age of jazz.
About the Sonny Rollins Bridge Project:
The Sonny Rollins Bridge Project seeks to rename the Williamsburg Bridge to commemorate Rollins’ musical sabbatical there from 1959-1961. The project was begun in March 2016 and the effort has received news coverage around the world, including publications in Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The project is working closely with New York City and State representatives to introduce legislation to officially rename the bridge to the Sonny Rollins Williamsburg Bridge.
Eric Wyatt featured in digital edition of January’s DownBeat
For full article by Chris Tart click here for print/digital subscription
Eric Wyatt interview: BTRtoday
Premiere Date: Nov 26, 2017
Eric Wyatt’s interview with BTRtoday recounts his life, and his process to create his new album.
Look To The Sky is currently #27 on JazzWeek radio chart. Wyatt talks about his life, family and how it has impacted him as an artist, as well as the origin of the album title. Songs featured in the interview include the heartfelt “A Psalm for Phennie” (dedicated to his mother) and “Jolley Charlie,” a song he feels represents his father’s sound.
Listen to Eric Wyatt explain his process~click the mp3 below to listen to the full interview, or the link below to go to BTRtoday’s website.
To purchase Look to the Sky, click here.
WCSound releases on 11/27 JazzWeek Radio Chart: #27 Eric Wyatt “Look to the Sky,” #45, Alma Micic “That Old Feeling,” Chartbound, Dave Zinno Unisphere “River of January”
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#27, Eric Wyatt Look to the Sky Brooklyn-born and bred Eric owns a solid berth along the saxophone continuum originally laid out by guys like Parker, Coltrane and Rollins. Throughout his career, his playing has been edgy and inventive, heartfelt and poignant. In fact, his father was good friends with Rollins and after Wyatt’s dad passed away, Sonny Rollins became involved in Eric’s music. “After my dad passed in 1989, Sonny became very present in my music and offered his help. I was given the opportunity to record my first CD, Godson, on the Japanese label King Records. Sonny suggested the title Godson because it explained his and my dad’s Hope. The Godson CD featured Al Foster, Rufus Reid and Mark Soskin, all members of Sonny’s bands. Look to the Sky, Wyatt’s debut for Whaling City Sound and his sixth recording overall, is magnificently realized, both instrumentally and emotionally. There are musical nods to his father (“Jolley Charlie”) and mother (“Psalm for Phennie”), to Coltrane (“My Favorite Things”) and a few other intimate touch-points, some original, a few written by his accompanist, Benito Gonzalez. Indeed, Wyatt is joined here by excellent progressive musicians, including the resounding pianist Gonzalez, drummers Shinnosuke Takahashi and Kyle Pool, Eric Wheeler on bass and Keyon Harrold on trumpet. Together, their music is filled with hope and dedication, reciprocity and passion. With every recording, Wyatt flourishes, in terms of artistry and intensity, power and finesse. Look to the Sky is the man’s—and his band’s— finest and fullest record yet.
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#45 Alma Micic That Old Feeling check out new video for “Estate” on YouTube Alma Micic Quartet serves up a delightful take on timeless standards, embellished by an original, and a version of the Romany anthem “Solnishko”, with visions of a dreamy night, both sentimental and hopeful. Songs inspired by dancing in the moonlight, till the sunrise comes, Alma’s new album That Old Feeling will leave you with a sweet feeling.
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Chartbound Dave Zinno Unisphere River of January. CLICK HERE to download a general radio station ID “Hello, this is Dave Zinno of Dave Zinno Unisphere & the new WCS release River of January, thanks for listening.” The songs are lavish jazz adventures, rich with texture, ripe with melodicism, and simply joyful audio journeys. The band is spectacular: Unisphere includes the talents of sax man Mike Tucker (Arturo Sandoval), drummer Rafael Barata (Milton Nascimento, Marc Johnson), Leo Genovese (Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spaulding), and Crescent City trumpeter Benny Bloom. Zinno leads them the way a hopeless romantic treats a first love: gently, understanding and worshipful. He glorifies his accompanists and allows them to go on at length, indulging their considerable talents and making River of January a wall of glorious of sound. This isn’t to say that it’s stodgy. Zinno infuses the work with progress. The band takes the vibe of traditional jazz and reverses the paradigm, so the songs, while familiar, certainly don’t remain the same. There are many highlights here, and while it wouldn’t be a waste of space to speak about them individually, it would be easier to say that these tunes all include rushes of adrenaline, sweetness of melody and serious elements of style. River of January is a work of forward thinking tradition and one that has much substance within it to discover.
