Saxophone solo: Sonny Rollins

Arguably one of the greatest tenor saxophonists of all time, Sonny Rollins has a number of tunes that are considered to be ‘Jazz sstandards’ incluyding ‘Tenor Madness’, ‘Alfie’, ‘Doxy’, ‘Pent Up House’ and a host of others. At the top of this list, however, is the faux-calypso ‘St. Thomas’. Plyed reasonably regularly by almost every Jazz musician currently alive on this planet, the original performance includes both calypso and swing grooves. Whilst many play the tune, it is probably the case that many more rarely revisit the original. The track appeared originally on the 1957 Rollins album ‘Saxophone Collosus’ and actually features two saxophone solos, one following the opening head and the other following a Max Roach drum solo and preceding Tommy Flanagan’s piano solo. The transcription here is the opening solo which has been transcribed for bass. This causes problems in terms of range and a handful of ridiculous ledger lines but, in terms of gaining an insight into Rollins’s ‘thematic development’, it provides some useful insights into the saxophonist’s approach to the tune.

The saxophone solo starts at the 0.55 mark.