I first met Sonny Rollins in 1978, when I did an interview with him for a Down Beat magazine cover story. After the interview, we bonded over some hashish in his woodshed and have remained friends ever since.
In 2004, after his wife Lucille passed, my dear friend Terri Hinte, who is still his publicist, and his nephew trombonist Clifton Anderson, suggested to Sonny that he hire me to produce his website, which I did. Later that year, I started producing video for Sonny, and my other web client, Dr. Billy Taylor. Joe Lovano joined the party a few months after that. Finally, in 2006, I began posting video on YouTube as the Jazz Video Guy. Without Sonny, Billy and Joe, there would have been no Jazz Video Guy.
From 2004 to 2014, when respiratory issues stopped him from playing, I worked closely with Sonny and produced quite a bit of performance and interview video which still lives, for the most part, on YouTube.
In 2007, we did three short films together, about his relationships with John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. The Miles film is still on YouTube, but copyright issues forced me to remove the others from YouTube and Facebook. But now, thankfully, they have returned, on my Blog, Syncopated Justice. Of the hundreds of short videos and three documentary features I have produced and posted over the past twenty years, as the Jazz Video Guy, these three are my favorites, because of the subject matter, the music, and the interviews.
Like Sonny - The Story of Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane
Thelonious and Theodore aka Monk is My Guru
The Need for Change - Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis
Other recent videos that might be of interest:
Gerry Mulligan - Walking Shoes
As I mentioned on my post this past Friday: In this wild, whirling vortex of chaos we call the world, I'm ardently reaching out for a shred of sanity. It feels as if we're all aboard a runaway train, hurtling towards the heart of crazy-town at full throttle. But amidst the maelstrom, there's one anchor for me - the unpredictable, heartfelt rhythms of Jazz. It’s always worked for me, and it always will, as the soundtrack to my rebellion against the madness.
Please take care….
Bret
Thank you for these posts...
Wonderful interviews with Sonny.