The Man Who Revolutionised Jazz
The Man Who Revolutionised Jazz

Last Rites by Georgia Heneage and Sam C. Wells

Episode notes

Where does creative genius come from? And what are the costs?

This episode of Last Rites digs into one of the most culturally explosive moments of the 20th century - the jazz renaissance of the 1950s - through Sonny Rollins, the maestro who helped define it.

Rollins had his demons: he was an obsessive who never rested on his laurels and disappeared from the spotlight again and again, who kicked a heroin habit and went to jail for armed robbery.

He was also a genius who helped revolutionise jazz with contemporaries such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, known for his extraordinary improvisational technique and mastery of the saxophone.

Keywords
jazzMiles DavisSonny RollinsObituaryGeniusSaxophone
Where this episode is made