May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins Passes Away at 95
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
Duke Performances and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University will present two concerts on Feb. 26 and 27, 2009, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Thelonious Monk’s seminal Town Hall concert in New York City, the first time Monk’s music was ever played by a big band.
Charles Tolliver and Jason Moran salute the legendary musician by creating their takes on the original concert, using never-before-heard recordings and images shot during rehearsals by photographer W. Eugene Smith, who also lived in the “Jazz Loft” rehearsal building, where Monk and his band practiced. WNYC Radio, the nation’s largest public radio station, will air an exclusive live broadcast of the Feb. 26 concert, anchored by Evening Music host Terrance McKnight, and will tape the Feb. 27 concert for later broadcast.
More info: monkattownhall.org
Onstage, Rollins would move about restlessly, thrusting his tenor sax in the air as he blew.
May 26, 2026 11:08 AM
Sonny Rollins, the iconic saxophonist, composer and improviser whose career stretched from the origins of bebop to 21st…
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Ava Preston, a 12-time DownBeat Student Music Award winner, is currently pursuing her master’s degree in jazz voice at Juilliard.
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