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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

George Shearing's "Conception," recorded on this day in 1951 for Prestige Records by Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Walter Bishop, Tommy Potter, and Art Blakey. Sonny was offered a contract with Prestige the same day. youtu.be/TKAvHT7kTvM?...

youtu.be

Conception (Remastered 2026)

YouTube video by Miles Davis - Topic

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

"A joyful noise": Nate Chinen on the Sonny Rollins memorial celebration: thegig.substack.com/p/memorializ...

thegig.substack.com

Memorializing Sonny Rollins

Notes on a celebration of the Saxophone Colossus

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Happy 100th Birthday John Coltrane! "[We] shared a lot of the same beliefs and aspirations and hopes and joys about the things that music could do—change the world and all of these things... we were kindred spirits in many ways." –S.R. (to Bret Primack) youtu.be/3MkUvZUTFUc?...

youtu.be

Sonny Rollins Quartet with John Coltrane - Tenor Madness

YouTube video by 60otaku4

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

"[H]is real work was the simple one: show up, practice, try to be honest about who you are, try to do better than yesterday. It’s not special. It’s just what serious people do." Bret Primack on Sonny Rollins' Relentless Pursuit: substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

The Relentless Pursuit: Sonny Rollins’ Unfinished Work

I wrote about my friend Sonny Rollins just after his passing, this May.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

On this day in 2001, just days after the horrific attacks of 9/11, Sonny Rollins took the stage in Boston, saying "Maybe music can help. I don't know. But we have to try something these days, right?" From the album Without A Song – The 9/11 Concert: youtu.be/OCAZA9WKiQM?...

youtu.be

Sonny Rollins - Without A Song (Live In Boston / 2001) (Official Audio)

YouTube video by Sonny Rollins

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Happy Birthday to drummer Elvin Jones! "His beat was so liberating, so free, and universal." –S.R. to Modern Drummer, 2008. Here he is with Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, and Jimmy Garrison, from the 1966 Impulse! LP East Broadway Run Down: youtu.be/-hHXhnKEmpM?...

youtu.be

East Broadway Run Down

YouTube video by Sonny Rollins - Topic

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Happy Birthday Wilbur Ware, the bassist Sonny Rollins described to NPR as "Terra Firma"! Here he is with Sonny and Elvin Jones on "Sonnymoon for Two," from the 1957 Blue Note album "A Night at the Village Vanguard": youtu.be/Cl4LKaS1nLI?...

youtu.be

Sonnymoon For Two (Evening) (Live At The Village Vanguard/1957 / Remastered 1999/Rudy Van...

YouTube video by Sonny Rollins - Topic

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

"One of the most difficult things to absorb after his passing was how so many people only talked about him in the most elevated of terms... everyone completely neglected what a great sense of humor he had." Lee Mergner on his friendship with Sonny Rollins: leemergner.substack.com/p/my-friend-...

leemergner.substack.com

Insider Baseball: Remembering Sonny Rollins

My personal remembrance of the legendary jazz saxophonist

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Sonny Rollins was born on this day in 1930. "I call it the Big Picture and the Little Picture. Here on Earth is the Little Picture... what I'm talking about is bigger than the universe. We have to connect ourselves with that!" –S.R. to Aidan Levy, 2020

A photo of 13-year old Sonny Rollins playing a saxophone, photographer unknown.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Beginning Monday September 7 at midnight ET: celebrate the 96th anniversary of Sonny Rollins' birth with WKCR's 24-hour marathon: www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/sonny-r...

cc-seas.columbia.edu

Sonny Rollins Birthday Broadcast | Columbia College

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Happy Birthday Kenny Dorham! Here's the trumpeter with Sonny Rollins on "My Old Flame" from Dorham's Riverside LP Jazz Contrasts. (Coltrane fans will notice an influential phrase at 3:25...) youtu.be/9l49bDpPmiY?...

youtu.be

My Old Flame

YouTube video by Kenny Dorham - Topic

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Happy Birthday to Sonny's longtime friend and practice partner Bennie Maupin! Here they are together on Sonny's composition Azalea, from the 1975 Milestone LP Nucleus: youtu.be/hABGzCuGM30?...

youtu.be

Sonny Rollins - Azalea (Official Audio)

YouTube video by Sonny Rollins

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Happy Birthday Charlie Parker! "Highly intricate, involved, complicated, intellectual... he had to be recognized as not just great music but a person that was an artist. Charlie Parker was our god, he was our prophet." –S.R., to Bret Primack (2011)

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Happy Birthday Branford Marsalis! Here he is with Sonny Rollins, Tommy Flanagan, Jerome Harris, and Jeff Watts, on "I Should Care," from the 1989 Milestone album Falling In Love with Jazz: youtu.be/FrbE8VNTJSE?...

youtu.be

Sonny Rollins - I Should Care (Official Audio)

YouTube video by Sonny Rollins

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Sonny Rollins plays his composition "Moving Out," featuring trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist Elmo Hope, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Art Blakey, recorded for the Prestige album of the same name on this day in 1954: youtu.be/nxxH01vCmFU?...

youtu.be

Sonny Rollins - Moving Out (Official Visualizer)

YouTube video by Sonny Rollins

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

“Jazz had been seen as a bunch of ghoulish characters that came up after it got dark, like Dracula… this showed [us] to be people.” From Aidan Levy's Saxophone Colossus, Sonny Rollins on participating in Art Kane’s “Great Day in Harlem” photo, taken this day in 1958. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Great...

en.wikipedia.org

A Great Day in Harlem - Wikipedia

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

"Rollins wasn’t trying merely to provoke. He was chasing the music in his head, being true to his 'voice'—a practice all jazz musicians strive for, but which few of us are committed or brave enough to lay down on record." Trumpeter Nate Wooley for n+1: www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...

nplusonemag.com

Let Everything Change | Nate Wooley

I became a Sonny Rollins fan on my 13th birthday, when my dad took me for the first time to his favorite record store in Portland, Oregon. He gave me $50, which in 1987, netted me twelve LPs. One was ...

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

"There's always, with Sonny Rollins, hints of the future, because he's always refracting what he knows into what is happening at the moment." Part 2 of Ken Micallef's conversation wit Ted Panken on the Essential Discs of Sonny Rollins: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOCc...

youtube.com

Sonny Rollins's Essential Records, Part ii

YouTube video by Jazz Vinyl Audiophile Ken Micallef

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

"An honest improviser... he plays who he is at the moment he's playing it." Ken Micallef talks with journalist Ted Panken about The Essential Discs of Sonny Rollins. Part 1: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt6m...

youtube.com

The Essential Discs of Sonny Rollins by Award Winning Journalist, Ted Panken, Part. I

YouTube video by Jazz Vinyl Audiophile Ken Micallef

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

"Jazz is the embodiment of the American Ideal… It is in reality the music of America created by Americans for the edification of all mankind." 'The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins' is now available in audiobook format from Tantor Media: rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/97...

rbmediaglobal.com

RBmedia | The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins

Listen to the audiobook The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins, written by Sonny Rollins, narrated by David Sadzin.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Deep thanks to everyone for the outpouring of condolences and testimonials following Sonny's passing on May 25. We know Sonny felt the love. He made a real difference in this world.

Photo by Phil Bray of Sonny Rollins in sunglasses looking towards camera holding saxophone

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

“Don't ever shrink from the belief that you have to prove yourself every minute, because you do, and probably it's a healthy thing… Every time you get there, you're encouraged to go farther.” Gary Giddins shares his decades of articles on Sonny Rollins: garygiddins.com/sonny-rollins/

garygiddins.com

Sonny Rollins – Gary Giddins

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

"Chance moments with your heroes are fleeting, rare and often disappointing. Not this one... Sonny has boarded his final flight, but his music — and all the joy and humanity inside it — soars forever." From Doug Herzog, "Flying the Sonny Skies": dougherzog.substack.com/p/flying-the...

dougherzog.substack.com

Flying The Sonny Skies

Lightening strikes not once but twice. An improbable double chance encounter with a jazz giant.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

In the words of Sonny Rollins, "We all have to use adversity as an opportunity to find a way. So, keep a strong mind throughout this short existence." From Joe Alterman, "Sonny Rollins and the Search for Something Real": www.atlantajewishtimes.com/sonny-rollin...

atlantajewishtimes.com

Sonny Rollins and the Search for Something Real - Atlanta Jewish Times

Upon Rollins’ recent passing, Joe recalls a special connection he had with the famed jazz artist.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

"...His influence, whether direct or through osmosis, has been deep and persistent... Luckily for us all, there’s plenty of stations to visit in the Sonny Rollins Time Machine." From Fred Kaplan, The Wondrous Vinyl Legacy of Sonny Rollins: trackingangle.com/features/the...

trackingangle.com

The Wondrous Vinyl Legacy of Sonny Rollins

get out your wallet or stream away!

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

"Sonny is not only part of the history of jazz; he’s also a student of it. And all of that comes out every time he plays." Via Ted Panken, appreciations from sidemen & others incl. Stephen Scott, Jack DeJohnette, Chris Potter, Joe Lovano, Greg Osby & more: tedpanken.substack.com/p/appreciati...

tedpanken.substack.com

APPRECIATIONS IN 2000 FROM SONNY ROLLINS' BANDMATES, OLD FRIENDS AND SOME FELLOW SAXOPHONISTS

Stephen Scott, Bob Cranshaw, Jack deJohnette, Tommy Flanagan, George Garzone, Chris Potter, Joe Lovano, Gary Bartz, Michael Brecker, James Carter, Branford Marsalis, Henry Threadgill, Greg Osby

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

"Hardcore Jazz is political. It's real art, and it's got a lot to say about things that are happening. Unfortunately, a lot of forces don't want us to think about anything… just go along and consume & make money." Ted Panken's 4 profiles on Sonny Rollins: tedpanken.substack.com/p/four-profi...

tedpanken.substack.com

Four profiles on the great Sonny Rollins: three for Downbeat (2000, 2007 and 2009) and one for Jazziz (2005)

Different perspectives on the Saxophone Colossus from consequential points during the last 12 years of his career

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

"I loved my father… Whatever they did to him, they didn't turn me against America. There was still Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Parker. And nobody could top that." From The Nation: Sonny Rollins Lived to See Justice for His Wrongly Convicted Father www.thenation.com/article/soci...

thenation.com

Sonny Rollins Lived to See Justice for His Wrongly Convicted Father

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

"That first hour was devoted entirely to 'Sonnymoon for Two.' Imagine getting to play one blues for an hour with Sonny Rollins. Man." Christian McBride shares his experiences rehearsing, performing, and talking with the Saxophone Colossus: substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

Sonny Rollins: 1930-2026

My story of Sonny seems unlikely, but it happened.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

"I just want the music to play itself... If I have to think about what I'm doing, then the moment is already gone, you know?" NPR's Fresh Air shares Sonny Rollins' interviews from 1994 and 2005: www.npr.org/2026/05/29/n...

npr.org

Remembering tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, a titan of modern jazz

Rollins, who died May 25, had for decades been hailed as the greatest living jazz musician. Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation, and we listen back to Rollins' 1994 interview with Terry Gross.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

"Jazz is as relevant today as the yearning of people to be free." The Jazz Session presents three conversations with Sonny Rollins, featuring interviews from 2008, 2010, and 2012: www.patreon.com/posts/jazz-s...

patreon.com

The Jazz Session #653: Three Conversations With Sonny Rollins | The Jazz Session

The Jazz Session #653: Three Conversations With Sonny Rollins by The Jazz Session on Patreon. Join The Jazz Session's community for exclusive content and updates.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

"The Greatest Ever Is Gone": Mark Stryker on Sonny Rollins for Ethan Iverson's Transitional Technology: iverson.substack.com/p/guest-post...

iverson.substack.com

GUEST POST: The Greatest Ever is Gone: Reflections on Sonny Rollins and a Desert Island List of Recordings

By Mark Stryker

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

From 1999, Sonny Rollins talks to Chris M. Slawecki of All About Jazz: "Music is a thing you never completely master... But this helped me to remain a student all of my life. I consider myself still a student." www.allaboutjazz.com/sonny-rollin...

allaboutjazz.com

Sonny Rollins: Still a Student – Sonny Rollins | Interview | All About Jazz

Read Sonny Rollins: Still a Student by Chris M. Slawecki on All About Jazz. Discover in-depth jazz Interview coverage, artist features, and expert writing since 1995.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

"These pictures take me back into a time which will never be like that again." Vanity Fair shares Sonny Rollins' foreword for the new book Jazz: Best of the Apollo, Village Vanguard, and Riverside Sessions, featuring photos by Steve Schapiro: www.vanityfair.com/culture/phot...

vanityfair.com

Sonny Rollins, the Sax Master Who Died This Week at 95, on Steve Schapiro’s Unseen Photos of Jazz Giants

In an homage, written months before his death at 95, the jazz legend recounts a magical era in Manhattan’s 1960s music scene.

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

This Friday and Saturday May 29th and 30th, catch WKCR's Sonny Rollins Memorial Broadcast, featuring 48 non-stop hours of the Saxophone Colossus. Listen anywhere at www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/story/s...

cc-seas.columbia.edu

Sonny Rollins Memorial Broadcast | WKCR 89.9FM NY

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

The NY Times presents a multi-faceted look at the life and career of Sonny Rollins, featuring a biography, interviews, and essential albums: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/25/a...

nytimes.com

Sonny Rollins: 12 Essential Albums

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

It is with deep sorrow and profound love that we announce the passing of Sonny Rollins. The Saxophone Colossus died this afternoon at his home in Woodstock, NY at the age of 95. 1/2

Photo of Sonny Rollins playing saxophone in 2009 by John Abbott

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

On this day in 1956, John Coltrane accompanied Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones, and Red Garland to a Sonny Rollins recording session for Prestige. Sonny invited him to join the band for a tune, resulting in their blues showdown "Tenor Madness": youtu.be/454YxQcUKgc?...

youtu.be

Tenor Madness by Sonny Rollins from 'The Complete Prestige Recordings' Disc 5

YouTube video by Sonny Rollins

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Happy Birthday Fats Waller! After first hearing this track, as Sonny Rollins told Larry Appelbaum of the Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Project, "I knew I wanted to play jazz... It makes you feel that there is a God, and that things are okay." youtu.be/f8SB0-BV4r0?...

youtu.be

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter

YouTube video by Fats Waller - Topic

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

"I consider myself a 'stream of consciousness' player, or what was later to be known as a 'free jazz' player… So I had to learn how to play with the strictures of bebop and all these things… because I'm really just a natural player." –S.R., to the Academy of Achievement, 2006

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Now available for pre-order: Jazz: Best of the Apollo, Village Vanguard, and Riverside Sessions, featuring never-before-seen images by documentary photographer Steve Schapiro, with text by Richard Scheinin and a foreword by Sonny Rollins: www.simonandschuster.com/books/Jazz/K...

simonandschuster.com

Jazz

Jazz is an essential volume of rare and previously unseen photos by Steve Schapiro, featuring the biggest 1960s jazz legends.One of the leading soc...

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Happy Birthday Ron Carter! Here's the bassist with Sonny Rollins and Roy McCurdy on Sonny's signature St. Thomas, from the 1964 RCA Victor LP Now's the Time!: youtu.be/rFvG-cVdj98?...

youtu.be

Ron Carter - St. Thomas from Now's the Time by Sonny Rollins #roncarterbassist

YouTube video by Ron Carter Bassist

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Happy Birthday Edward Kennedy Ellington! Here's Duke's "Solitude" played by Sonny Rollins with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne, from the 1957 Contemporary LP Way Out West: youtu.be/_D3zqnokaVI?...

youtu.be

Solitude by Sonny Rollins from 'Way Out West'

YouTube video by Sonny Rollins

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Aidan Levy's Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins is now available in Japanese! Translated by Yuji Odanaka and published by Aki Shobo, available here: www.akishobo.com/book/detail....

Cover of Japanese translation of Saxophone Colossus by Aidan Levy featuring a photo of Sonny Rollins playing saxophone

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Sonny Rollins @thesonnyrollins.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Sonny Rollins' first recording of "Don't Stop the Carnival," arr. by Jimmy Jones and featuring Jim Hall, Bob Cranshaw, Ben Riley, Dennis Charles, Frank Charles, Willie Rodriguez, and a vocal sextet led by Howard Roberts, rec. for RCA on this date in 1962: youtu.be/Y6I9dUTh9vI?...

youtu.be

Don't Stop the Carnival (1997 Remastered)

YouTube video by Sonny Rollins - Topic

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