11 de setembre, 2010

Sonny Rollins at Beacon Theatre



* By Bob Blumenthal

The evening opened with Sonny and his working band (Russell Malone, guitar; Bob Cranshaw, electric bass; Kobie Watkins, drums; Sammy Figueroa, congas) playing Nishi and Global Warming.  Then Roy Hargrove joined the group for I Can't Get Started and Raincheck.  Roy and Russell exited before Jim Hall came out to play In a Sentimental Mood and If Ever I Would Leave You with Sonny and the rhythm section.  Next, Sonny, Christian McBride and Roy Haynes played Solitude and Sonnymoon for Two, with unannounced guest Ornette Coleman joining the trio in the middle of Sonnymoon.

Highlights for this listener included Sonny's solo on Global Warming, Sonny's and Roy's exchanges on Raincheck, the empathy of Jim and Sonny on If Ever..., Solitude, and the solo Sonny played after Ornette's first solo on Sonnymoon, which sounded like Ornette's concept in Sonny's vernacular.

As they say, you should have been there.

* Bob Blumenthal is the author of Saxophone Colossus: A Portrait of Sonny Rollins.