Sonny Rollins: The Cutting Edge

by Richard Palmer

Overview

One of the world's great tenor saxophonists, Sonny Rollins has always been committed to the fundamental truths of jazz, especially swing. He has managed to be consistently experimental and forward-looking, and he has recorded at least a dozen essential albums. Here, Richard Palmer charts Rollins's career in full.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826469168
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/24/2004
Series:	Bayou Jazz Lives Series
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

Richard Palmer writes regularly for Jazz Journal International and is series editor for Eastnote, Hull University Press's new imprint of jazz studies. He is the author of a number of books on jazz.

Editorial Reviews

"Richard Palmer's biography of Sonny Rollins is a well-written, indepth look at one of the jazz greats. This fine book gives the reader a fascinating and accurate look at the saxophone master. It reveals the life of Rollins, and his music .This is the type of book to read, savor, purchase for a friend, and place in your local Public Library. This is one entertaining and educational reading experience about a giant among jazz saxophonists!"--Sanford Lakoff

"Since the focus here is on recorded output, this well-documented study complements some other recent titles which are more concerned with Rollin's personal life. Recommended for jazz collections in public and academic libraries." -Library Journal, 5/1/504

Review -Jazz Special (Scandinavia)

Richard Palmer s biography of Sonny Rollins is a well-written, indepth look at one of the jazz greats. This fine book gives the reader a fascinating and accurate look at the saxophone master. It reveals the life of Rollins, and his music. this is the type of book to read, savor, purchase for a friend, and place in your local Public Library. This is one entertaining and educational reading experience about a giant among jazz saxophonists! Lee Prosser, Jazz Book Review

The book is a masterpiece of genre wherein Mr. Palmer is not content to rely on his own considerable research into Rollin s prodigious recording output. He contrasts and/or confirms his own appraisals with copious quotes from many other august critics, musicians, and record producers. All this makes for fascinating reading, not least because we are given insight into what the giants of the modern movement thought of each other! No matter what corner of the ring you occupy, read this book. Just Jazz, December 2004

From the Publisher

Sonny Rollins and Artie Shaw are both standout figures in the jazz pantheon, and these two entries in Continuum's "Bayou Jazz Lives" series attempt to appraise their recorded output. A staff writer for Jazz Journal since the 1970s, Palmer takes a critical look at Rollins's jazz standards, like "Doxy," "Oleo," and "Airegin." Basically, he starts with the larger cultural backdrop and what was happening in jazz at the time and then focuses more on Rollins, using commentary from musicians, record producers, and critics to back up his claims. He suggests that, ironically, Rollins lacked confidence in his work, which may have led to problems in the studio. Since the focus here is on recorded output, this well-documented study complements some other recent titles, such as Eric Nisenson's Open Sky: Sonny Rollins and His World of Improvisation, which are more concerned with Rollins's personal life. Recommended for jazz collections in public and academic libraries. Artie Shaw was at the top of the jazz world in the 1940s and a major rival of Benny Goodman on clarinet, yet by 1954 he had stopped playing and did not perform in public again as an instrumentalist. Besides Vladimir Simosko's Artie Shaw: A Musical Biography and Discography, there are surprisingly few books on Shaw, so this study is welcome. Obviously well versed in his subject, White (Billie Holiday: Her Life and Time) focuses on the music, eschewing the juicier details of Shaw's life-he got married eight times, to no less than Lana Turner and Ava Gardner. Citing interviews with Shaw and other musicians, White shows that Shaw was an important member of the jazz pantheon who influenced other musicians, experimented with different contexts, and was willing to have an integrated band in the late 1930s. Like Palmer's book, this is well documented and organized. Recommended for jazz collections in public and academic libraries.-Ronald S. Russ, Arkansas State Univ. Lib., Beebe Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal