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Book
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9781953691996
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Hardcover. 588 pages. "Fiery, funny, inviting and digressive, Sonny Simmons' memoir is a long overdue celebration of the famed New York free jazz pioneer. Though his years in the New York free-jazz scene of the sixties cemented his reputation as 'one of the most forceful and convincing composers and soloists in his field,' saxophonist Sonny Simmons (1933-2021) was nearly forgotten by the '80s, which found him broke, heavily dependent on drugs and alcohol, and separated from his wife and kids. 'I played on the streets from 1980 to 1994, 365 days a year,' Simmons tells jazz historian and biographer Marc Chaloin. 'I would go to North Beach, and I'd sleep in the park. The word got around town that Sonny is a junkie, really strung out.' The resurrection of Simmons' career -- upon the release of his critically acclaimed Ancient Ritual (Qwest Records) in 1994 -- has become a modern legend of the genre. In the last two decades of his musical career, Simmons broke through to a new echelon of recognition, joining the pantheon of great innovators and masters of the music. But to this day he remains an undersung figure. Here, in the first ever book dedicated to his life, Simmons recounts his childhood in the backwoods of Louisiana, his adolescence in the burgeoning Bay Area jazz scene and his star-studded life in New York playing alongside the greats."
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CD
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ESPDISK 1030CD
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The noted west coast composer makes his ESP debut accompanied by his then wife, Barbara Donald, on trumpet, Teddy Smith on bass, John Hicks on piano and Marvin Pattillo on percussion. Recorded August 1966, Staying on the Watch is an important infusion of straight-ahead and avant jazz. Barbara Donald is a superb trumpeter who has made a stern contribution to the legacy of women performers and has been widely written about. Also, pianist John Hicks, who makes his New York debut on the record, went on to become one of the most prolific pianists in jazz.
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