Sonny Rollins improvised a few days after 9/11

I wrote the following about the concert. During the interview with Sonny on ROS, they read part of this on the air. After hearing it, Sonny said he liked what "my friend" wrote.

So now I can always say that Sonny Rollins considers me a friend. I subsequently had the honor of meeting him after a show, and I can only say that he might be a true saint!

As my self-reflective consciousness kicked back in, I realized I was far out - of my seat…with my upper body bent forward on the balls of my feet. Somehow I was keeping balance as my arms stretched up and away…grasping for an acknowledgement of my solidarity. We were a congregation that night, lost in praise for a wordless sermon…ephemeral shrills and high-pitched hoots were our response - to his call.

The particular call we were responding to was an improvised solo at the end of the song, “Why was I born.” The date was significant, September 15, 2001. Sonny Rollins stood before us looking both delicate and sturdy…as his solo climaxed with a succession of short ebullient bursts of sounds…defiant sounds…sounds that grabbed you by the collar in a paternal way and said snap out of it and start living again! A shared cathartic hysteria ensued.

Four days earlier, Sonny had been startled in his apartment as he heard the first plane crash into the World Trade Center, just blocks away. The power in his place went out and the police rescued Sonny (and his sax!) live on CNN.

So it be…Lucille, his wife of 48 years, and obviously a perceptive soul, convinced Sonny that the show must go on. He could still feel the dust in his lungs.

To share a Sonny solo is to share in a tour de force. For me they unfold like a contemplative walk through a familiar neighborhood…a journey that evokes a variety of impressions; from childhood memories induced by some old swingset, to larger questions about society brought on by the homeless. Even on this meaningful night (maybe because of this meaningful night) Sonny’s solos referenced lighthearted melodies such as “Oh Susanna” and the “Jeopardy” theme.

Sonny’s sax is not as much an instrument as it is an extension - of the man himself. The man himself is serene…he has nothing left to prove, and so much more to give. At some point years ago, the saxophonist Sonny Rollins decided to jam with the better angles of his nature…and he’s been blowing hard ever since. Blow baby blow!