Sonny Rollins
@thesonnyrollins.bsky.social
The official account of Sonny Rollins, the Saxophone Colossus.
https://sonnyrollins.com/
https://sonnyrollins.com/
Who knows what love is
No one seems to know
People live and people
Die, one by one
We go but just
Within this speck of
Time I found love, I know
Because of countless little things
That told me so
(from The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins, NYRB Press)
No one seems to know
People live and people
Die, one by one
We go but just
Within this speck of
Time I found love, I know
Because of countless little things
That told me so
(from The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins, NYRB Press)
November 24, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Who knows what love is
No one seems to know
People live and people
Die, one by one
We go but just
Within this speck of
Time I found love, I know
Because of countless little things
That told me so
(from The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins, NYRB Press)
No one seems to know
People live and people
Die, one by one
We go but just
Within this speck of
Time I found love, I know
Because of countless little things
That told me so
(from The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins, NYRB Press)
"When I realized that jazz is God, it’s God speaking to me. And my trying to speak back to God – that is jazz." Sonny Rollins speaks to WABE's Joe Alterman on The Upside of Jazz: www.wabe.org/an-interview...
An Interview with Saxophonist Sonny Rollins
There are legends in jazz — and then there’s Sonny Rollins. They call him the Saxophone Colossus, and for good reason. For nearly nine decades, Rollins has set the gold […]
www.wabe.org
November 13, 2025 at 7:58 PM
"When I realized that jazz is God, it’s God speaking to me. And my trying to speak back to God – that is jazz." Sonny Rollins speaks to WABE's Joe Alterman on The Upside of Jazz: www.wabe.org/an-interview...
Happy Birthday Paul Bley! Here's the pianist with Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, Bob Cranshaw, and Roy McCurdy on Jerome Kern's and Otto Harbach's "Yesterdays," from the 1963 RCA Victor LP Sonny Meets Hawk! youtu.be/0Hrc4jCjJws?...
Yesterdays (Remastered)
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins - Topic
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November 11, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Happy Birthday Paul Bley! Here's the pianist with Sonny Rollins, Coleman Hawkins, Bob Cranshaw, and Roy McCurdy on Jerome Kern's and Otto Harbach's "Yesterdays," from the 1963 RCA Victor LP Sonny Meets Hawk! youtu.be/0Hrc4jCjJws?...
Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia" (afternoon take), by Sonny Rollins with drummer Pete La Roca and bassist Donald Bailey, recorded live for the Blue Note LP A Night at the Village Vanguard on this day in 1957: youtu.be/1oWiVGAdJqc?...
A Night In Tunisia (Live At The Village Vanguard/1957 - Afternoon Take)
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins - Topic
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November 3, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia" (afternoon take), by Sonny Rollins with drummer Pete La Roca and bassist Donald Bailey, recorded live for the Blue Note LP A Night at the Village Vanguard on this day in 1957: youtu.be/1oWiVGAdJqc?...
Now available: high-quality, officially licensed apparel featuring the original artwork of Sonny Rollins. sonnyrollins.com/shop
Shop — Sonny Rollins
Shop high-quality, officially licensed apparel featuring original artwork by Sonny Rollins, the Saxophone Colossus.
sonnyrollins.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Now available: high-quality, officially licensed apparel featuring the original artwork of Sonny Rollins. sonnyrollins.com/shop
Happy Birthday Clifford Brown! Here he is with Sonny Rollins in the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet playing Cole Porter's "What Is this Thing Called Love" in 1956. "We used to call him an angel, because he was so gifted, so perfect a person." —S.R. (2016) youtu.be/JTWRZkoLGx8?...
What Is This Thing Called Love
YouTube video by Clifford Brown - Topic
youtu.be
October 30, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Happy Birthday Clifford Brown! Here he is with Sonny Rollins in the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet playing Cole Porter's "What Is this Thing Called Love" in 1956. "We used to call him an angel, because he was so gifted, so perfect a person." —S.R. (2016) youtu.be/JTWRZkoLGx8?...
Another great drummer lost to us – for a while anyway. Goodbye, Jack DeJohnette. –S.R.
October 27, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Another great drummer lost to us – for a while anyway. Goodbye, Jack DeJohnette. –S.R.
Happy Birthday John Birks Gillespie! Here's Dizzy on Avery Parrish's "After Hours," with Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Ray Bryant, Tommy Bryant, and Charlie Persip, recorded for the 1958 Verve LP Sonny Side Up: youtu.be/NRRowle7A3o?...
After Hours
YouTube video by Dizzy Gillespie - Topic
youtu.be
October 21, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Happy Birthday John Birks Gillespie! Here's Dizzy on Avery Parrish's "After Hours," with Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Ray Bryant, Tommy Bryant, and Charlie Persip, recorded for the 1958 Verve LP Sonny Side Up: youtu.be/NRRowle7A3o?...
Happy Birthday Roy Hargrove! Here's the trumpeter with Sonny Rollins, Mark Soskin, Bob Cranshaw, and Al Foster on Sonny's composition "Young Roy," from the 1991 Milestone album Here's to the People: youtu.be/_kxa4-Hsfwk?...
Sonny Rollins - Young Roy (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins
youtu.be
October 16, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Happy Birthday Roy Hargrove! Here's the trumpeter with Sonny Rollins, Mark Soskin, Bob Cranshaw, and Al Foster on Sonny's composition "Young Roy," from the 1991 Milestone album Here's to the People: youtu.be/_kxa4-Hsfwk?...
Happy Birthday Thelonious Monk! “Monk was an enigmatic guy, but he was one of the best people I’ve known, completely honest, and he took a liking to me and took me under his wing, and years later I was able to see that he influenced me in many things.” –S.R. (2007)
October 10, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Happy Birthday Thelonious Monk! “Monk was an enigmatic guy, but he was one of the best people I’ve known, completely honest, and he took a liking to me and took me under his wing, and years later I was able to see that he influenced me in many things.” –S.R. (2007)
Happy Birthday Oscar Pettiford! Here's the bassist with Sonny Rollins and Max Roach on Noël Coward's "Someday I'll Find You," from the 1958 Riverside LP The Freedom Suite: youtu.be/0IGAe0mXKgs?...
Someday I'll Find You
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins - Topic
youtu.be
September 30, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Happy Birthday Oscar Pettiford! Here's the bassist with Sonny Rollins and Max Roach on Noël Coward's "Someday I'll Find You," from the 1958 Riverside LP The Freedom Suite: youtu.be/0IGAe0mXKgs?...
Happy Birthday Fats Navarro! Here's the trumpeter with Bud Powell, Sonny Rollins, Tommy Potter, and Roy Haynes, on Thelonious Monk's 52nd St. Theme, recorded for Blue Note Records in 1949: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OCD...
52nd Street Theme (Remastered 1998/Rudy Van Gelder Edition)
YouTube video by Bud Powell - Topic
www.youtube.com
September 24, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Happy Birthday Fats Navarro! Here's the trumpeter with Bud Powell, Sonny Rollins, Tommy Potter, and Roy Haynes, on Thelonious Monk's 52nd St. Theme, recorded for Blue Note Records in 1949: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OCD...
95.5/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Thank you for joining us for this Sonny Rollins celebration! As a closing bonus, enjoy this interview, "Jazz and Life": "Jazz is a force of nature, it's a feeling, it's a sense of communing with higher things... that's what it is for me." www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFCE...
Jazz and Life - Sonny Rollins
YouTube video by Jazz Video Guy
www.youtube.com
September 14, 2025 at 1:21 AM
95.5/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Thank you for joining us for this Sonny Rollins celebration! As a closing bonus, enjoy this interview, "Jazz and Life": "Jazz is a force of nature, it's a feeling, it's a sense of communing with higher things... that's what it is for me." www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFCE...
95/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Sonny's composition "Pantjali," recorded July 25, 2012 at Palais Longchamp, Marseille, France: youtu.be/MWwtH043bnw?...
Patanjali
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins - Topic
youtu.be
September 14, 2025 at 1:20 AM
95/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Sonny's composition "Pantjali," recorded July 25, 2012 at Palais Longchamp, Marseille, France: youtu.be/MWwtH043bnw?...
94/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 "Tenor Madness" Sonny Rollins live at Jazz à Vienne, 2011: youtu.be/lxzuvS29lR8?...
Sonny Rollins - Jazz à Vienne 2011 - LIVE HD
YouTube video by Zycopolis TV
youtu.be
September 14, 2025 at 1:16 AM
94/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 "Tenor Madness" Sonny Rollins live at Jazz à Vienne, 2011: youtu.be/lxzuvS29lR8?...
93/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 In 2011, Sonny was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Pres. Barack Obama. "I'm very happy that jazz, the greatest American music, is being recognized... and I'm grateful to accept this award on behalf of the gods of our music." –S.R. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT3G...
Jazz Legend "Sonny" Rollins Honored By President Obama
YouTube video by TDC
www.youtube.com
September 14, 2025 at 1:16 AM
93/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 In 2011, Sonny was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Pres. Barack Obama. "I'm very happy that jazz, the greatest American music, is being recognized... and I'm grateful to accept this award on behalf of the gods of our music." –S.R. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT3G...
92/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 "Sonnymoon for Two" In September 2010, Ornette Coleman and Sonny Rollins share the stage for the very first time at Sonny's 80th birthday celebration at the Beacon Theatre in NYC: youtu.be/WhXlwdkcLc4?...
Sonny Rollins & Ornette Coleman - Sonnymoon For Two (Live 2010)
YouTube video by dixiefeet
youtu.be
September 14, 2025 at 1:15 AM
92/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 "Sonnymoon for Two" In September 2010, Ornette Coleman and Sonny Rollins share the stage for the very first time at Sonny's 80th birthday celebration at the Beacon Theatre in NYC: youtu.be/WhXlwdkcLc4?...
91/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 In September 2007, Sonny was joined by Roy Haynes and Christian McBride at Carnegie Hall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his debut there. Here's "Some Enchanted Evening": youtu.be/oeRqpjoGfJs?...
✨Sonny Rollins- Some Enchanted Evening🎷
YouTube video by Jazz Odyssey
youtu.be
September 13, 2025 at 11:17 PM
91/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 In September 2007, Sonny was joined by Roy Haynes and Christian McBride at Carnegie Hall to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his debut there. Here's "Some Enchanted Evening": youtu.be/oeRqpjoGfJs?...
90/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Sonny's blues "H.S." (dedicated to Horace Silver), recorded live in Toulouse, France, 2006 and released on Road Shows, Vol. 4: Holding the Stage: youtu.be/Tq0sy-k3kDg?...
H.S. (Live)
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins - Topic
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September 13, 2025 at 11:17 PM
90/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Sonny's blues "H.S." (dedicated to Horace Silver), recorded live in Toulouse, France, 2006 and released on Road Shows, Vol. 4: Holding the Stage: youtu.be/Tq0sy-k3kDg?...
89/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Sonny's original "Park Place Parade," named for the ballroom where he went to calypso dances with his mother, from the 2006 Doxy album Sonny Please: youtu.be/C9Frnlfcst8?...
Sonny Rollins - Sonny, Please (2006) [FULL ALBUM]
YouTube video by トータルAgainst
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September 13, 2025 at 11:16 PM
89/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Sonny's original "Park Place Parade," named for the ballroom where he went to calypso dances with his mother, from the 2006 Doxy album Sonny Please: youtu.be/C9Frnlfcst8?...
88/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 The title track from Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert, recorded in Boston Sept. 15, 2001. "Maybe music can help. I don't know. But we have to try something these days, right?" –S.R. youtu.be/OCAZA9WKiQM?...
Sonny Rollins - Without A Song (Live In Boston / 2001) (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins
youtu.be
September 13, 2025 at 11:16 PM
88/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 The title track from Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert, recorded in Boston Sept. 15, 2001. "Maybe music can help. I don't know. But we have to try something these days, right?" –S.R. youtu.be/OCAZA9WKiQM?...
87/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Sonny starts off the 21st century with Loesser & Newman's "The Moon of Manakoora," from the 2000 Grammy-winning Milestone CD "This is What I Do": youtu.be/f5rikM3GFDk?...
Sonny Rollins - The Moon Of Manakoora (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins
youtu.be
September 13, 2025 at 7:07 PM
87/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Sonny starts off the 21st century with Loesser & Newman's "The Moon of Manakoora," from the 2000 Grammy-winning Milestone CD "This is What I Do": youtu.be/f5rikM3GFDk?...
86/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 "Echo-Side Blue," from the 1998 album Global Warming. "We're destroying the planet... we are sawing the limb we're sitting on." –S.R. youtu.be/DwyQzRAJ0Ac?...
Sonny Rollins - Echo Side Blue (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins
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September 13, 2025 at 7:06 PM
86/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 "Echo-Side Blue," from the 1998 album Global Warming. "We're destroying the planet... we are sawing the limb we're sitting on." –S.R. youtu.be/DwyQzRAJ0Ac?...
85/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Rodgers & Hart's "Falling in Love with Love," from a 1997 live performance in Tokyo: youtu.be/Ewg90DKNt0M?...
Sonny Rollins live in Japan Falling in love with love
YouTube video by hothouse1468
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September 13, 2025 at 7:06 PM
85/95 #sonnyrollins95for95 Rodgers & Hart's "Falling in Love with Love," from a 1997 live performance in Tokyo: youtu.be/Ewg90DKNt0M?...
84/95 Welcome to the final day of #sonnyrollins95for95! Here's Sonny's "Biji," with Tommy Flanagan, Bob Cranshaw, and Al Foster, from the 1995 Milestone album Sonny Rollins +3: youtu.be/0EJnVrjFdFQ?...
Sonny Rollins - Biji (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Sonny Rollins
youtu.be
September 13, 2025 at 7:05 PM
84/95 Welcome to the final day of #sonnyrollins95for95! Here's Sonny's "Biji," with Tommy Flanagan, Bob Cranshaw, and Al Foster, from the 1995 Milestone album Sonny Rollins +3: youtu.be/0EJnVrjFdFQ?...