Like Sonny: The Story of Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane

[bario579]

great video!

[JazzVideoGuy]

does there always have to a better? why must it be a competition?

[lesslove12]

sooooooooo...who's better?

[saxjamin]

Jimmy put it best that "when you look into a garden, you see lots of beautiful flowers", but unfortunately most people still won't get it, because they are not artists, they generally know nothing about the creative mind and creative process, and they have to be told who's the best by so-called "experts". Anyone can tell who is more proficient on a particular instrument, but past a certain point of technical ability and creativity, the only thing left is the listener's subjective opinion.

[FoardenotFord]

Awesome, but is anyone else annoyed by the narrator's pronunciation of the word 'saxophonist'?

[dreadtodred]

Sonny you are great!!

[chrisconwaypeters]

worthy



[stratovarius36]

jazzvideoguy you have the best collection of videos ive ever seen/heard of

[JazzVideoGuy]

@stratovarius36 Many thanks for the kind words.

[MrPvenb]

4 persons have brain damage.

[annefrankisaho]

@MrPvenb

yup

[CCMusicianPerformer]

Love & Appreciation:)

[lmsypj]

trane practiced on the chords to gs for a year. if you need some time....don't be so hard on yourself....give it some time.

[saxtom1]

maybe, I don't know, sorry!

[hecbiz75]

Dear lawd. FANTASTIC! Please, please keep posting these informative videos! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[mumbleora]

Wayne Shorter tells the story of 2 musicians discussing eary Coltranes sound. One musician argued that " I don't know man, he sounds like he's scambling eggs or something", to which the other musician said, "Yeah, but it's the "WAY" he's scrambing them eggs!!

[0okhalilo0]

i love sonny

[jazzuffe]

I am crying of joy about this!

[jazzuffe]

I am crying of joy..

[r59691]

and da brotha fine too....... jehosaphat.... ummmmmph

[vandoren59]

@JazzVideoGuy I wish I could have the chance to meet Mr. Sonny Rollins. I've been to a few of his concerts... But I've never been able to see him.. How is it possible for him to do autographs e.c.t?

[JazzVideoGuy]

@vandoren59 He sometimes signs autographs after his concerts, for people who wait at the stage door. But not all the time, and usually not until at least 90 minutes after the concert.

[vandoren59]

@JazzVideoGuy Oh Ok. Well thank's so much for the advice Brett. Much appreciated. PLEASE DON'T EVER STOP MAKING YOUR WONDERFUL VIDEOS! They help me get through the day!! Thanks.

[shockthesky]

you can get a copy of the Celebrity Black Book and then write his agent whose address will be in the book and then he can do an autograph for you that way. Also his web site has some autographed materials that you can purchase. It's not the same as meeting him... but anyway.

[shockthesky]

you can get a copy of the Celebrity Black Book and then write his agent whose address will be in the book and then he can do an autograph for you that way. Also his web site has some autographed materials that you can purchase. It's not the same as meeting him... but anyway. Sonny is a great hero

[moley97]

@vandoren59 im going to meet him at the barbrican back stage on the 20th of november. i got that cance because i went to a jam session and some people really liked my playing and the new sonny rollins! and the gave me free tickets and some backstage passes! so its just a case of looking

[vandoren59]

@moley97 Yeah i'm going to that concert too. Is it possible to buy backstage passes on the barbican website?

[JanneFlinck1981]

is there diference between wooden and plastic reed, cause for me its much easier to use plastic one.

[london1188]

Rollins is a legend!! I have two spare tickers to see him live at a sold out concert on 20/11/10. For more information go to

[mrkennedy4321]

what song is played at 12:20? thnks

[timopartanen]

Thanks for this, real fine. Trane and Sonny are giants. Some wanted Wayne, Moody etc included, no problem. In that case let's not miss the great David Murray.

[studiocucamonga]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.......Jimmy Heath's remarks absolutely nail it !!!

[kaledoik]

Merci Bret Primack et cie

[scottspianist]

jazzvideoguy, please never take any of these videos off youtube, or stop putting them up. You actually make all these wonderful interviews available to the rest of us and i must thankyou so much!

[JazzVideoGuy]

@scottspianist Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

[LEARNTOPLAYCRAPS]

@JazzVideoGuy Yes, yes, yes........thank you so much for these inside looks at our musical "heroes". I never get tired of listening to people like Sonny, Michael Brecker (R.I.P.), and SO many others. You, Bret, are as much a part of my influence(s) these past few years because of what you let me see and hear from my favorite jazz musicians here on YouTube. I hope I get the chance to meet you, shake your hand, and thank you in person someday. Thanks to YouTube, too! Can't wait to see more!

[JazzVideoGuy]

@LEARNTOPLAYCRAPS Appreciate the kind words. Stay tuned!

[adelaxxx]

i love sonny

[aaronamccoy]

nobody can fuck with coltrane

[newwind07]

I've always liked jazz as a periphery musical idea, but I just recently began to understand it at 21 years old. I bought a vinyl Lp of love supreme and just sat and listened through it full. It blew my mind. Thank you or making and posting these videos. They add so much mythology to the music.

[clarkewi]

These two players should have their portraits carved out of Mt. Rushmore.

[acx577]

80 years old!!!!!!!!

[godfather12m]

whats the music in the begginning?

[Mattytheman91]

@godfather12m trane's tune 'Like Sonny'

[Jazzsuperfan1]

yeah!

[theinvisiblelight]

the way he says saxophone is weird..

[danielwerre]

More gruff and louder, I guess

[danielwerre]

Wow, Sonny's voice does not sound as I imagined it.

[JazzVideoGuy]

How did you imagine it would sound?

[prvthampton]

@JazzVideoGuy lol like his sax o' course!! this is terrific

[BeatBay]

@JazzVideoGuy like a tenor sax! ;)

[Truelight0]

John Coltrain, Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stit, Michael Brecker....

[huskerspew]

Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges...

[mlredr]

Hey huskerspew, Truelight0: You left out Kenny G LOL!!

[paulostroff99]

A must have for sax jazz buffs! Bravo!

[busapp]

There is nothing like seeing the actual people talking about each other. There will never be again the likes of Sonny, Trane, Miles, Heath, on and on. We can only admire from our perspective and try to emulate.

[helluvagun]

@busapp

Ohhhiee, Newk, Trane, Pres, and Hawk!

[originallhamfist]

@busapp What an amazingly perfect thing to say about people who study and play jazz. Well said

[jazzluvr4u]

I love it; this is rare footage!

[retsofnalanosaj]

thanks for this....cheers

[JazzmanJibilla]

Monk and Coltrane were his "comfortable to be with" guys..I love his comment about Miles always having a lot of stuff 'going on'. These interviews have tremendous value JVG, thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Wyga23]

Touchy! I really watched it with tears in my eyes

[Phoen3]

giant

[whk1067]

at 1:38, I can ID Miles, but can anyone list who else is standing there? I was thnking Jackie McClean in the foreground, but he's holding a trombone -- Teegarden?

[retsofnalanosaj]

Kai Winding?? not sure

[guidomattina52]

Fantastic!!!

[nixli1980]

I just eat this stuff up. Legends talking about legends! As a younger musician I feel like they are almost mythological characters, but here they all are talking about them like buddy's. Sick.

[BentGordonsen]

I know the video focuses on Sonny and Coltrane, but I've always enjoyed hearing Jimmy Heath speak about the great players

[dan1880712125847]

what is the name of the beginning song?

[swieca666]

"Like Sonny" by Coltrane.

[nickwarhead]

They rock the Chit Chit Chee beats!

[kevinherbert]

JVG: you're a bloody legend mate.....thanx

[ricisrock]

While these two men are in the Bible of jazz tenor, we definitely MUST include WAYNE SHORTER!

[Fjord76]

definately!

but I'll add Joe Henderson whose playing and writing is on the same level as the 3 others imo

[b133le]

@ricisrock Yusef Lateef and Sam Rivers too! Hell James Moody as well!!

[SEXYMEXY4U]

Sonny's style is more appealing to my ear.

[dreadtodred]

sonny Ilove you

[peppersax]

I haven't heard a saxophonist yet that can bring me to tears like COLTRANE. He is still the greatest (to me)!

[tbone926]

whats the name of the first tune when this video starts?... I have been looking for it forever but I don't now the title or album!

[JazzVideoGuy]

John Coltrane - Like Sonny

[aartvanbergen]

@tbone926 from the great album 'Coltrane Jazz'

[quickmajik1000]

Trane and Sonny were both extremely incredible innovators and we sax players are indebted to their vision and the possibilities that evolved out of these giants. We cannot say enough about their impact on the sax following another great master in Charlie Parker. The two respected each other tremendously.

[jaikwillis]

There's a lot of talk of Sonny being scared into the woodshed by Coltrane, during the period leading up to "the Bridge", but to my ear Sonny outpaces Coltrane on Tenor Madness. Regardless they are both brilliant and divine

[saxoman1]

Jazz isn't a cutting competition. That being said, I am also of the opinion that Sonny "outpaces" Coltrane on that particular recording (he plays everything Coltrane played back at him and then more). Of course this is earlier trane (he sounds "unsure" sometimes in this recording imo). I'll stop rambling my irrelevant opinion now lol (b/c at the end of the day, they were both amazing on this recording and in general they were otherworldly).

[blakeh2os]

if you pronounce saxophonist that way it means you are smarter than those who pronounce it the common way.

[JazzVideoGuy]

It's the way the English pronounce it. I got it from Ronnie Scott in London.

[jfugelso]

Dexter Gordon said sax-off-onist, and he was the epitome of sophistication.

[JacobShulman]

you say saxophonist weird

[oznerolb]

Hello guys, quick question, what is the tune played at the very beginning of the video? I have a recording of it somewhere but not remembering the title I can't quite locate it.... thanks for your the help

[JazzVideoGuy]

John Coltrane's "Like Sonny"

[oznerolb]

of course!! ;)

thank you JazzVideoGuy,

L

[SmokeingEars]

Sonny Rollins RULES man..nuff sayzd

[nubiantgirl]

great stuff

[Nabzed]

a little problem... According to Alain Gerber, and I think he is right, John And Sonny were not really friends ! Rollins was jealous of Coltrane for a moment... And Coltrane considered sonny as a mentor AND as a musical "ennemy"...

[JazzVideoGuy]

According to Sonny, they were friends. Very good friends.

who is Alain Gerber?

[Nabzed]

AlainGerber is a French Critic who wrote a book about john coltrane "Le Cas Coltrane". Very intersesting and instructive.. Yes Sonny and Trane were great friends for a moment... But in the book there is a long chapter about Sonny/John relationship.. According to sonny when He played with his trio, he played in this kinda group because there was no pianist he would have liked to play with but Mc Coy Tyner... Coltrane had yet taken him... That's an example. Read the book if you wanna learn more.

[JazzVideoGuy]

I'll check it out, but I get my info directly from Sonny, who tells a somewhat different tale. It's been experience, over the years, that writers don't always have all the facks, though.

[willy4u4u]

there is actually an interview on youtube where trane says they were great admirers of one another..

[gsco82]

What a great video, wonderful insight into 2 great tenor players. This is why I subscribe to JassVideoGuy. Keep up the great work!!

[divajc]

The beauty of jazz is not one musician outplaying the other, but the gorgeous juice of sharing the music onstage!

Diva JC

[cemmi2]

The actually quote on Pres' last 59'Paris int. about H.Evans is: "He loved HIS inst., & I loved mine TOO!... so? F* U, F* Me...boom"! "Newk" was another nickname 4 Sonny.Because he resembled Bklyn. Dodger's pitcher Don Newcomb. Real name: Theodore Walter Rollins. Listen to the "My Old flame" from the 58' session with Max,KD,Wynton & PC. Newl lays out a riff in his solo that a year later became the basis for Trane's compostion "Like Sonny"

[Jazzadicto]

Tear of happiness =) May The Lord Bless Sonny and Trane.

[fissure226]

nice vid son

[TampaRed]

Looking forward to checking out Sonny's gig in Seoul come this May. Sonny is the man.

[lsdlacedwatersupply]

I've been listening to so much Jazz the last few days..that watching this..is like watching..they might as well be switching from one person playing an insturment to another..it's EVERYWHERE..I gotta take a BREAK!!!!!

[pianoanimal09]

the cat with the hat is SOOOOOOOOO high...

[ScanlonJazz]

saxophonist (sax-off-ah-nist) = HA

Keep supporting live jazz!

[gtdist]

Great video

[gosax]

great music... now if only that guy would quit talking over Coltrane...

[Ohgr]

Great video, thanks for this.

[lairdlord]

I thank God that I was able see and hear both of these great musicians. I loved them both equally well. I thank the universe for giving the world these two gods of jazz.

[aselmerius]

Einfach wunderbar!

JazzVideoGuy hat die Knüller!

[dazedandconfucious]

the footage of coltrane playing.. that's "So What" is it not?

[JazzVideoGuy]

It is "So What" from a 1959 TV program Trane did with Miles.

[ChimRichaldz]

yes. the full performance is on youtube somewhere, it's pretty great

[Toddo31]

Man. Things like this make YouTube worth sorting through all the garbage!!!!

[osumb17]

tv sucks now

[crisssst]

mil gracias por subir este video.

Capi de mardel, arg

[loweight]

great music !

[cafefort]

thank you! a million times thank you!!

You choosed a good date to post such a jewel. In fact we loosed Trane that's exactly 40 years. We loosed a great man, a great musician! again thank you!

[bazookasax]

thanks for the great vid keep on doing what you are doing

[scottbos68]

i have the coltrane cd like sonny its awesome

[vincentgrit]

same here :)

[ChangitoMalo]

This is why I watch YouTube instead of regular TV.

[Extracelestial]

Same here.

[DanMcCaffrey]

Same here.