6/12/2023 0 Comments Sonny rollins saxophone colossus![]() ![]() Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. In this sense, Levy’s book counts as a success, since its endless supply of superlatives can still inspire and guide readers to listen afresh to Rollins’ huge catalog of recordings.Ī definitive account of a jazz icon in which the level of detail will interest only superfans.Ī former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.ĭiscovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. In fact, Levy's greatest contribution is his extensive account of the dissatisfaction that led to Rollins’ decision to practice on the Williamsburg Bridge for more than a year as well as the attention paid to the less-well-known work that followed. Fans who are only familiar with Rollins’ late-1950s hard-bop golden age (particularly the classic album from which the book’s title is drawn) will be delighted to discover more about his later evolution. ![]() The portrait of Rollins the activist, yogi, and perfectionist genius that emerges frequently borders on hagiography, though the author gradually manages to convey the essence of an artist driven by a relentless spiritual quest to improve himself. Levy’s obsession with complete documentation also means that we only come to appreciate Rollins’ fascinating personality through the sheer weight of repeated anecdotes instead of synthesis on the part of his biographer. While completists will be thrilled with the in-depth chronicle of exactly which songs were played with which musicians at which concert dates, others will find that these frequent asides make the text read like a very long track list. We hear about his interactions with early idols like Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, his work with contemporaries Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, and his later mentorship of younger players like the Marsalis brothers. The saxophonist’s central place in the history of jazz means that he played with a list of luminaries that spans generations. 1932), Levy, the author of Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed, documents a 65-year career through conversations drawn from nearly everyone who interacted with Rollins. ![]() In this meticulously researched biography of Sonny Rollins (b. ![]() A colossally detailed account of the legendary saxophonist. ![]()
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