Sonny Rollins @ Massey Hall

A brief hiatus due to a vacation, a hectic work schedule, and just plain laziness. But with the number of big concerts past and ones forthcoming, it was time to start blogging again before the backlog became overwhelming.

I don't know what's happened to jazz. I would have happily stood up from my seat in Massey Hall last night and danced madly during Sonny Rollins's entire concert (like I suspect I'll be doing next week when the Arcade Fire roll into the same venue). But I'm sure someone would have told me to sit down, especially since we were in the third row from the front. I wonder sometimes if jazz greats miss the days when they weren't famous enough to play huge sit-down concert halls to middle-aged upper middle class folk.

I didn't know anything about Sonny Rollins, although I knew the name, and knew that I must have a few of his recordings on various jazz compilation albums. The friend who'd bought the tickets knew even less, but buys so many show tickets from Massey Hall and Roy Thompson Hall that we got into a "Preferred Members" pre-show event in the lounge where music professor/writer/critic Rob Bowman waxed ecstatic about Rollins for an hour. Unfortunately we missed the beginning, but it was pretty awesome, and not just because of the refreshments. It was great to hear someone talk excitedly about Rollins, because it got us excited about the show.

The comment that piqued my interest the most was that Rollins still swings, and has a great sense of humour and joy despite his cerebral technique and spiritual goals. And he did. The lights dimmed, and this little old gentleman wearing sunglasses and a long coat shuffled on stage. According to his bio, he's 77 (!), but when he played, the years vanished. I was amazed that he could be both atonal and remarkably lyrical. Not at the same time, mind you -- it amazed me that he was comfortable with both styles.

Highlights: the percussionist who specialized in traditional African instruments; the drummer who played with his mouth hanging happily open like a puppy, even during the slower-paced songs; the music nerds (myself included) who clustered around the stage during intermission, gawking at the instruments; and my inability to sit still during the entire show.

Lowlight: the couple who showed up at our row, confused by the people sitting in their seats. An usher took a closer look at their tickets and said, "Oh, those are for yesterday's show." Which was Ron Sexsmith with Amy Millan. I bet someone slept on the sofa last night.

Sonny Rollins website
Sonny Rollins on Wikipedia

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Coming soon: Coco Rosie, the Arcade Fire, the Joel Plaskett Emergency, and a sojourn in Seattle during which I hope to catch some live music. And that's only in the next two weeks!