Today I was wondering about how guys like Sonny Rollins managed to become such outstanding musicians at such a young age. He'd barely turned 23, when he recorded The Stopper, which shows great technique, and at the same time nice, advanced harmonic-melodic thinking on just a few changes. The continuity, with which he composes the lines, is in my opinion pretty remarkable for his age.
I don't think there were a lot of cats that could play like Sonny "Newk" Rollins in their early 20's.
Sure, there was Bird, Dizzy, Fats, Brownie, Bud Powell, and some others, maybe one or two for each instruments... But hearing Newk's records with Bud Powell when he was not even 19 years old, it makes me wonder... what a great musician he was, and still is.
Thank you Sonny Rollins, for showing the world how much one can achieve when he really loves something and puts his whole "body & soul" into it...
Sonny Rollins - The Stopper (for Bb Tenor)
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