Rollins band

Philip Larkin said that in jazz, "the unconscious describes itself almost in its own terms."

Even when he's not using a tenor saxophone, Sonny Rollins can describe jazz as well as anyone. I had the pleasure of interviewing Sonny in 1999. That was probably the peak moment of my now-neglected music journalism "career." It was perhaps a forty-five-minute-long phoner, nothing earth-shattering. But I knew I was crossing paths with someone to whom we'll still be listening in a hundred years.

How do you know music journalism isn't going to be your livelihood? In my case, it happened when I found myself sitting in the upper deck of a football stadium waiting to see the British band Bush start their set during a festival. They were due to play in about three hours, and I had to think of something reasonably serious to say about them. And I sat there thinking, "You know, I took this job because I thought it was cool...."


FMFM: Sonny's "St. Thomas," one of the simple pleasures I suspect I'll always enjoy: the rolling Caribbean rhythm from Max Roach, the heard-it-your-whole-life theme, the sweetness of the improv, and the talky communication among the players.