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.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"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
"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 )
“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
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!" (, )
"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 )
“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
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!" (, )
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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Analysis,
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This review is from: Sonny Rollins: The Cutting Edge (Bayou Jazz Lives) (Paperback)
Anyone can have opinions, but the ability to make a compelling case in defense of them is rare. I think Palmer succeeds. His critiques of Rollins' music, as well as the state of jazz during the various periods of Rollins' output, are well developed and quite interesting. Even if you disagree with his conclusions, his theories provide ample food for thought. This is not a biography or discography (although it contains a good deal of both), but an analysis. P.N. Wilson's Sonny Rollins: The Definitive Musical Guide is similar and also very good, but I prefer this book.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but not great,
By
This review is from: Sonny Rollins: The Cutting Edge (Bayou Jazz Lives) (Paperback)
This is a fairly typical "synopsis" style narration, of facts that most hard-core jazz fans already know. There is little new information, and one could probably glean most of the book's content from the liner notes of Rollins' records and the myriad of magazine articles that have been written about him. Mr. Palmer could have done all fans a service if he had been able to secure a new, in-depth interview with Sonny (although notoriously difficult to obtain, he could have persevered in order to provide some real insight into Rollins in the new millenium), discussing his artform rather than who he has played with or specific compositions. This man will not be around for many more years and this was a wasted opportunity to really plumb the depths of the artist while he is still alive, adding fresh insight to an otherwise regurgitative book.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Do not trust this man,
By
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This review is from: Sonny Rollins: The Cutting Edge (Bayou Jazz Lives) (Paperback)
May be Mr Palmer is a good English teacher, but this book is a disaster. You'll find no details on the biography of one of the world greatest improvisers EVER. Instead the author feeds the reader with his very personal (and seldom valuable)judgments on the music, citations from other critics and pseudo-important academic bla-blas. The writing is sloppy, you can find a mysterious trumpeter Kinny Dorham (the name every jazz fan knows as Kenny), he forces Mr. Rollins to be born in 1929 pushing him one year back (he was born on 9/7/1930), attached sheet music contains a lot of errors and St Thomas is transposed half tone up. My advice - if you are a real fan of Mr. Rollins do not buy this reading will irritate you and raise your blood pressure.
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