SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE – Concert Hall
1 June 2008

"Mr. Rollins is in such remarkable form, hardly a musician alive could keep up with him." New York Times
Sydney Opera House is honoured to present the premiere (and exclusive) Australian performance of colossus jazz legend, Sonny Rollins.

When Sonny Rollins picks up the tenor saxophone, the world listens. One of just a handful of musicians whose style has fundamentally shaped the way jazz is played and heard, he remains one of the few surviving icons from a golden era of jazz that will probably never be equalled.

Rollins first recorded in 1949 and, over 50 years later, as the most formidable of all jazz improvisers, he remains a living inspiration to musicians and listeners worldwide.

Catch a Rollins solo in full flight, bursting with melodic invention, lightning-quick leaps of the imagination and sly humour and you’ll see exactly why Miles Davis dubbed him the 'greatest tenor ever'.

Performing with esteemed collaborators; Bob Cranshaw (bass); Clifton Anderson (Trombone); Bobby Broom (guitar); Kimati Dinizulu (percussion); and Kobie Watkins (drums); this is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness jazz’s most influential, exhilarating, and inspiring practitioner still at the top of his game.

With Special Guests Mike Nock Trio.

Cat. No.: 170 8620
Barcode: 0602517086203
Label: Emarcy
Release Date: Available Now

SONNY ROLLINS | Sonny, Please

ARTISTS

Sonny Rollins

TRACK LISTING

1. Sonny, Please 
2. Someday I'll Find You 
3. Nishi 
4. Stairway to the Stars 
5. Remembering Tommy 
6. Serenade 
7. Park Palace Parade 

Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins releases Sonny, Please -his first studio recording in five years - on Emarcy / Doxy Records, his own label.
The new CD captures his working band "at a good pitch," as he puts it. "Anytime you do a string of performances, it tightens up the ensemble, and the band was playing well-very high-powered."

The album is a mix of Rollins originals and indelible standards, including the assertive title track which takes its name from "something my wife [Lucille] always used to say: `Sonny, Please!'" "Sonny is really playing on this record," concurs Clifton Anderson, Rollins's long-time trombonist who also served as the new CD's producer. "Each track has its own beautiful distinction, yet there's a clear continuity throughout the recording." In addition to Anderson, the group is comprised of bassist Bob Cranshaw, an esteemed Rollins collaborator since 1959; guitarist Bobby Broom and drummer Steve Jordan, both of whom had worked with Sonny on prior occasions in the 1980s; and the percussionist Kimati Dinizulu, who joined the band six years ago. Rollins won the Grammy in 2001 for This Is What I Do and again in 2005 for "Why Was I Born?" (from Without A Song -The 9/11 Concert), in the Best Jazz Instrumental Solo category. In addition, Sonny received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 2004 and was inducted into the Academy of Achievement in 2006

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Cat. No.: 176 7548
Barcode: 0602517675483
Label: Emarcy
Release Date: Available Now

SONNY ROLLINS | Live In Vienne

Doxy Records and Emarcy are proud to announce the release of Sonny Rollins: Live in Vienne, the first DVD to capture Rollins and his band in an exhilarating full-length concert.

Live in Vienne was produced by French television and offers an up-close glimpse at Rollins onstage as he unfurls a superb hour-long set before a euphoric crowd at the 2006 Jazz Vienne Festival.

"Playing outside is always great," says the saxophonist, who famously spent two years (1959-61) practicing on New York's Williamsburg Bridge, above the East River. "But Vienne, with its Roman amphitheatre, is a particularly photogenic place, a beautiful venue. The little town is on the Rhône River. And it was warm that night-just perfect weather."

The stars and the elements were aligned for a dazzling Rollins performance that June evening. Opening with a favourite standard, Irving Berlin's "They Say It's Wonderful," Rollins also included another standard, "I See Your Face Before Me"; two ecstatic calypsos, "Global Warming" and "Don't Stop the Carnival"; and "Sonny, Please," the title track of his 2006 Grammy-nominated debut CD for Doxy/Emarcy.

Playing with Sonny that night were guitarist Bobby Broom, bassist Bob Cranshaw, Victor Lewis on drums, percussionist Kimati Dinizulu, and trombonist Clifton Anderson, who also produced the DVD for release.

"I remember this as an enjoyable performance," says Broom. "The band was pretty on that evening. And what a perfect concert setting: with the history and mystery of the ancient Roman theatre, the beauty of the twilight sky, and the muse of Sonny Rollins"

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Cat. No.: 981 5676
Barcode: 0602498156766
Label: ABC Jazz
Release Date: Available Now

MIKE NOCK | Mike Nocks Big Small Band

From their first gigs in May 2000, Mike Nock's Big Small Band has become a vital component of the Sydney modern jazz scene through its showcasing of many deserving emerging talents. A heady mix of both experienced and younger musicians, many of whom are leaders in their own right, the group delivers contemporary musical excitement combined with a strong audience appeal.

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