Sonny Rollins: A Short Unknown 1957 Audio Interview

We continue now our occasional series of audio interviews from the Claes Dahlgren collection. (Rollins calls him Claus by mistake.) Here is the earliest known audio interview of Sonny Rollins, a short conversation about his early years. This has never been heard other than its broadcast in Sweden.

This was recorded for a radio show in Sweden entitled Jazzglimtar från U.S.A. (Jazz Glimpses from the U.S.A.), program number 082. This excerpt begins in progress—Dahlgren would have several topics in each show—with Dahlgren saying, in Swedish, something like “Right now, however, it's break time at the Village Vanguard in New York’s Greenwich Village, and that gives us the opportunity to have a little chat with Sonny Rollins, as he's sitting down recuperating in the little musician room behind the scene.” (Thank you to subscriber Petter for this rough translation.) If you know the Vanguard, there is no “green room” for the musicians, but between sets they hang out in the kitchen, which is not in use, because food is not served. Rollins was at the Vanguard for about two months, from October 15, 1957 onward, so the interview was recorded anywhere during that period. Dahlgren’s narrator’s script is dated February 21, 1958. Usually he wrote the script soon after recording the interview, but in this case the broadcast was timed to coincide with the release of Rollins’s album “live” at the Vanguard, which was recorded November 3, 1957 and issued in February 1958.

In his Swedish introduction, Dahlgren also mentions Rollins’s bandmates, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Elvin Jones, and notes that Jones had performed with trombonist J.J. Johnson in Sweden that summer. In fact Johnson had toured northern Europe, and recordings exist of Johnson’s quintet with Elvin from Sweden in June 1957 and The Netherlands in August. (Dahlgren doesn’t mention that, after more than a year in the group, Jones had recently been fired by Johnson.)

Rollins talks about starting on the alto sax, hearing Charlie Parker, switching to tenor sax, and more. During the last 25 seconds you’ll hear a recorded announcement by Sonny which is on the issued album, at least on some of the CD releases, at the end of “What is This Thing Called Love,” going into one of the versions of “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise.”

We are able to hear this recording thanks to the generosity of The Claes Dahlgren Collection at The Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research (Svenskt visarkiv). I want to personally thank Wictor Johansson, head of the audiovisual collections, and Jörgen Adolfsson, research archivist and musician, for their kind assistance.

Please Note that permission was given for the audio to appear in this newsletter Only —no other copying or publishing of this recording is allowed without prior approval. Let us all please honor this, in which case more interviews will be coming your way. (I promise you that I have some additional amazing ones lined up!) In short, do not post the audio of this interview anywhere else—but please do share the link to this page with everyone you know! (If you see the word “Share” below, just click on that.)

Here is the interview:

All the best,
Lewis