I began my collaboration with Sonny in 2004, initially creating his website. The following year, I expanded my role to include filming rehearsals, performances, and interviews with the Saxophone Colossus and his fellow musicians.
By 2007, I had acquired my first HD camcorder, a top-of-the-line Canon priced under $3,000. Fast forward seventeen years, and the landscape of video technology has dramatically evolved. Nowadays, smartphones equipped with the right applications can produce even better videos at a fraction of the cost.
An interesting opportunity arose when Sonny invited me to the New Mexico Jazz Festival that September. Although I was still familiarizing myself with the camera, I seized the chance to start filming. I captured several performances in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, along with a series of interviews. Much of this footage is now available on YouTube, but I recently discovered an unpublished clip in my archives.
Sonny was perpetually in search of a new drummer, and this tour served as Jerome Jennings' audition. Unfortunately, it didn't pan out, and Jennings didn't perform with Sonny again. Sonny frequently changed drummers, and once, out of curiosity, I asked him what he sought in a drummer. His response was enigmatic yet revealing: “I’ll know when I hear it.”
Sonny Rollins, tenor saxophone; Clifton Anderson, trombone; Bobby Broom, guitar; Bob Cranshaw, bass and Jerome Jennings on drums.