We are celebrating the 89th Birthday of the great Sonny Rollins with an amazing line up:
George Coleman, Clifton Anderson, Eric Wyatt, Antoine Roney, Edsel Gomez, Belden Bullock, Ronnie Burrage, Victor Lewis, Victor See Yuen
Eric Wyatt’s new release tomorrow!
Already Most Added on Jazz Week!
Through his five, now six recordings as a bandleader, tenor talent Eric Wyatt has basically been performing unspoken tributes to Sonny Rollins. This time, he comes right out and says it. Not that he’s mindlessly mimicking the master. Wyatt, who happens to call Rollins his actual godfather, has a way of injecting his passion for bebop and affection for geniuses like Rollins, Charlie Parker, and Pharaoh Sanders, into virtually every note he plays. Wyatt’s latest, The Golden Rule: for Sonny, is his inimitable way of paying tribute to those strong boppers of the past, joined by talents that have been contributing valiantly to the vibrancy of today’s jazz scene—guitarist Russell Malone, pianist Benito Gonzalez, trombonist Clifton Anderson, tenor JD Allen, and emerging youth like Giveton Gelin on trombone and pianist Sullivan Fortner. Together, the posse exudes both class and bold promise as well as dashes of melodic invention. Wyatt says that he will never forget the impact Rollins—who often played with Wyatt’s father—had on him growing up. Here, on The Golden Rule: for Sonny, he proves he is a man of his word.
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.
