Open Sky: Sonny Rollins And His World Of Improvisation [Paperback]

Eric Nisenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2000

Sonny Rollins is one of jazz's great innovators, arguably the most influential tenor saxophonist, along with John Coltrane, in the history of modern jazz. He began his musical career at the age of eleven, and within five short years he was playing with the legendary Thelonious Monk. In the late forties, before his twenty-first birthday, Rollins was in full swing, recording with jazz luminaries such as Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Max Roach, Art Blakey, and Miles Davis, and he was hailed as the best jazz tenor man alive in the mid-fifties. Still active today, Rollins and his compelling sound reach a whole new generation of listeners with his eagerly anticipated live appearances. Now renowned jazz writer Eric Nisenson provides a long-overdue look at one of jazz's brightest, and most enduring, stars.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Less a biography than an effusive discography, this study of the legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins lacks the innovative playfulness that characterizes the jazz tenor's own work. Nisenson ('Round About Midnight) sets out to document "the development of a great jazzman's sensibility and musical conception, and how his life has meshed with his art." To that end, he traces Rollins's career from his stints as Miles Davis's sideman in the early 1950s and his ascension to accomplished bandleader by the '60s through his less influential past three decades. The lengthy quotations from Rollins himself, who riffs on such topics as his escape from heroin and his desire to remain humble in the face of success, show him to be a strikingly introspective figure, impeccably self-aware and critical of himself as a human being. It's unfortunate that Nisenson's treatment of Rollins's relationships to social and political issues is cut short in two important instances: Rollins's 1960 anti-racism album, The Freedom Suite, and his frustration with the bottom-line-obsessed world of major record labels, which led him to retreat from the jazz scene for six years starting in 1966. Instead, the author concentrates on Rollins's theory of improvisation as a highly intuitive expression of emotion and self; his reactions to the musician's various albums are accordingly subjective, evocative and full of metaphors. Yet the extravagant praise Nisenson heaps on Rollins grows monotonous, muddling together the different albums. Overall, there's very little hard information or insight to be gleaned from this cloying book. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Rollins was born in Harlem in 1930 when the Harlem Renaissance was at its peak. His family was caught up in the atmosphere that produced not only great culture but also a social consciousness that led to the Back to Africa movement. By the time Rollins graduated from high school, he was a professional musician playing with the likes of Thelonious Monk and fronting his own trio. Heroin addiction made him into a pariah and landed him in jail for armed robbery, but through music he overcame it. Nisenson (Blue: The Murder of Jazz) clearly knows his territory. Extensive interviews with Rollins provide insight and detail into his evolution as a musician of passion, integrity, and invention. While Nisenson wears his admiration for Rollins on his sleeve, he has written a compelling history of one of the unsung jazz giants; recommended for all jazz collections.
-Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306809885
• ISBN-13: 978-0306809880
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,017,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I was very disappointed with this book., August 9, 2001

By 

Jason E. Mingledorff (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Open Sky: Sonny Rollins and His World of Improvisation (Hardcover)

Eric Nisenson claims that this is not a definitive biography of Sonny Rollins. I would have to agree. Not only does this book tell us hardly anything about Sonny's personal life (his inpirations, his heartbreaks, his relationships with other jazz musicians), it has neither a discography nor an index. It's list of sources is only a page and a half, half of which seem to be previous books by Nisenson. After an inspired first chapter, Nisenson just seems to list through Sonny's albums and notable achievements, using generous quotes from Sonny describing events that were just described by the author himself. There were some good discriptions of some of the albums and some of Sonny's better solos, but most of it reads like a textbook. I would suggest that someone wait for either Sonny's autobiography (for which he's obviously saved a lot of info) or a "definitive" biography.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Sorry Fanzie ramble...Indeed., May 28, 2010

By 

Bullelephant "Boils" (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Open Sky: Sonny Rollins And His World Of Improvisation (Paperback)

Eric Nisenson is a fanzie not a writer. His attempt at this Rollins book fails on every level. At the end we know no more of Rollins than we do at the beginning. When Nisenson begins rambling he goes off cliffs. Was there no editor to put this book back on track. Nisenson will always use ten words when one would do nicely. I picked this book up with great expectations. The only thing 'great' that happened was my disappointment. I wondered while reading the book of the author had ever even heard Rollins play. Something was that amiss.

TThe endless unsubstanntiated praise of Rollins is someghing to behold. 'Fanzie' doesn't do justice to the egoless hero worshipping by the author. Maybe he has no ego. I'd wait for a definitive book on Rollins rather than buy this. Really I'd nominate it as the worst jazz book of the decade.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful analysis of artists work, August 27, 2004

By 

Ian Muldoon (Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Open Sky: Sonny Rollins And His World Of Improvisation (Paperback)

The first test to me on reading about an artist is whether the book is a spur to sending the reader back to the works. This book passes that test and I'm revisiting Mr Rollins' legacy especially that on the RCA Collected Set and Live at the Village Vanguard with Wilbur Ware, Elvin Jones et al. Those of you familiar with HEAR ME TALKIN' TO YOU will appreciate the insights gained from the musicians' own thoughts and feelings not to mention the appeal of the patois. OPEN SKY is quite valuable in that Mr ROLLINS makes quite a contribution. The author adds to the appeal by going over the recorded legacy of Mr Rollins. We don't only need great musicians, they need great listeners.
There is also many added pleasures to this fine read, including thoughts about health, attitude, race, as well as the added pleasure of Mr Rollins' involvement with some of our greatest artists including COLEMAN HAWKINS and JOHN COLTRANE. For lovers of improvised music (jazz) I would think this is an essential purchase.