Sonny Rollins Interview Archives

Vintage Interview: Sonny Rollins From 1998

Sonny Rollins isn’t considered a saxophone colossus just because he named an album that in 1956. It’s because of the music on that album, as well as such other jazz classics as 1966’s East Broadway Rundown, 1998’s Global Warming, 2001’s Without A Song: The 9/11 Concert, and on up through his latest, Road Shows Volume 3.

In 1998, I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Rollins for the pop culture magazine Bikini. And while the interview was for an advice column called Tips From Pops, we still covered a wide range of topics, including his penchant for practicing, his place in jazz history, and even The Simpsons.

What follows is a slightly edited version of that 1998 conversation, most of which has never been published before. You can also read an interview I did with him in 1996, for the music magazine Huh, here.

Vintage Interview: Sonny Rollins From 1996

Like supermodels, the best jazz musicians need only one name: Monk, Miles, Coltrane, and, of course, Rollins. But unlike so many of his single-name contemporaries, saxophonist Sonny Rollins is still out there, touring and recording.

In honor of his newest album, Road Shows Volume 3 — which has six tracks recorded in Japan, France, and St. Louis between 2001 and 2012, including a new song called “Patanjali” — I decided to dig up interviews I did with him in 1996 and 1998 for the music magazine Huh and the pop culture magazine Bikini.

What follows is an edited version of my 1996 interview, most of which has never been published before. You can read the 1998 one here.