Sonny Rollins Vinyl Listening Session – The Bridge

Story of Sonny Rollins’ legendary retreat to the Williamsburg Bridge, traced through the records surrounding his disappearance and return.
About this Event

In 1959, one of jazz’s most celebrated saxophonists disappeared from public performance.

Determined to improve, and unwilling to disturb a pregnant neighbour with the sound of his horn, Sonny Rollins found somewhere else to play. Almost daily for the next two years, he climbed onto the Williamsburg Bridge and practised alone against the traffic, wind and city below.

This vinyl listening session traces the music surrounding that retreat, from the recordings that preceded his disappearance to the work that emerged after it. It is the story of an artist who stepped away from acclaim to discover what he could truly become.