June 12, 2020
ANOTHER SHOT:
Sonny Rollins on the Pandemic, Protests, and Music: The legendary saxophonist, approaching ninety, discusses civil rights, jazz, and creative change. (Daniel King, June 11, 2020, The New Yorker)
The future of jazz is concerning in this pandemic. It's a music of collaboration and improvisation on bandstands and backstage, not isolated at home. The Jazz Foundation of America is doing heroic work with fund-raisers, but how can the music move forward?Jazz has got to retain its integrity, its spirituality. It's got to mean something. That's No. 1. There are a lot of great players thinking that way in the music. It's all good. I don't think we should lament the fact that, Oh, we can't play in the club anymore. That's passing. We'll be able to, as musicians, play serious jazz. I think that will prevail. I can't prophesize, but I have a strong intuitive feeling that it will be stronger than ever and have another shot at trying to turn this world around.
Posted by Orrin Judd at June 12, 2020 6:56 AM