Overview

Sonny Rollins has long been considered an enigma. Known as the ""Saxophone Colossus,"" he is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz improvisers of all time. His seven-decade career has been well documented, but the backstage life of the man once called ""the only jazz recluse"" has gone largely untold--until now. Based on more than 200 interviews with Rollins himself, family members, friends, and collaborators, as well as Rollins' extensive personal archive, Saxophone Colossus is the comprehensive portrait of this legendary saxophonist and composer, civil rights activist and environmentalist. Yet his meteoric rise to fame was not without its challenges. He served two sentences on Rikers Island and won his battle with heroin addiction. In 1959, Rollins took a two-year sabbatical from recording and performing. In 1968, he left again to study at an ashram in India. He returned to performing from 1971 until his retirement in 2012. The story of Sonny Rollins is the story of jazz itself, and Sonny's own narrative is as timeless and timely as the art form he represents. Part jazz oral history told in the musicians' own words, part chronicle of one man's quest for social justice and spiritual enlightenment, this is the definitive biography of one of the most enduring and influential artists in jazz and American history.

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Reviews

""[An] exhaustive, definitive biography."" -- ""Air Mail"" ""An admiring yet clear-eyed chronicle."" -- ""The Nation"" ""An incredibly deep, well-researched and thoughtfully written biography."" -- ""DownBeat""

Author Information

Aidan Levy is an author and biographer. A former fellow of the Leon Levy Center for Biography, his writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Village Voice, JazzTimes, The Nation, and other publications. He holds a doctorate in English and comparative literature from Columbia University, where he has served as co-convener of the African American Studies Colloquium and worked with the Center for Jazz Studies. For ten years, he was the baritone saxophonist in the Stan Rubin Orchestra. Bill Andrew Quinn, a nationally recognized commercial and promo voice actor, has been narrating audiobooks since 1993. When not behind the microphone, Bill can be found doing research for his Metromedia Radio syndicated radio show The Bill Andrew Quinn Radio Hour X2, watching his beloved St. Louis Cardinals on the MLB Network, and/or sampling craft beer. He lives in the New York City area. Bill Andrew Quinn, a nationally recognized commercial and promo voice actor, has been narrating audiobooks since 1993. When not behind the microphone, Bill can be found doing research for his Metromedia Radio syndicated radio show The Bill Andrew Quinn Radio Hour X2, watching his beloved St. Louis Cardinals on the MLB Network, and/or sampling craft beer. He lives in the New York City area.

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