Fantastic Sonny Rollins tribute at Kennedy Center Honors!
OK, for a jazz fan, the tunes were way too short -- but what a treat to see Joe Lovano, Ravi Coltrane, Jimmy Heath, and Benny Golson on stage together... and with all those other all-stars: Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette, Christian McBride, Jim Hall, Roy Hargrove... am I leaving anybody out? So cool to see these incredible artists paying tribute to one of the founding fathers of modern music.
And it was cool to see who was really digging it in the audience -- Sonny himself (although you could tell, especially when they played "St. Thomas" at the end, he really wanted to be down on the stage with all those other monsters!) -- Meryl Streep transported on wings of song, Yo-Yo Ma listening intently with eyes closed, the President and the First Lady grooving in synch with the music, and Bill Cosby no doubt remembering the early days when Sonny was just getting started. And look at him now!
Couldn't have picked a more deserving artist. Sonny Rollins, American hero.
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