Saxophone Colossus: A Sonny Rollins All-Star Tribute Concert

Description

With the recent passing of Sonny Rollins (1930-2026), we have lost one of the great masters in the history of music. Rollins had a huge impact on everybody in jazz, including local tenor titans Jerry Bergonzi and George Garzone. And although Sonny wasn’t primarily a composer, a number of his catchy tunes have become standard choices among them Airegin, Tune Up, Doxy, Oleo, Valse Hot and his arrangement of the calypso song St. Thomas. Our all-star band of the two tenors and their rhythm section of Lewis Porter, piano, John Lockwood, bass, and a master drummer will give Sonny and his tunes a rousing send-off that you don’t want to miss!

Jerry Bergonzi has performed throughout the world at all the major jazz festivals and jazz venues, with his own ensembles as well as with numerous jazz greats. His music is renowned for its innovation, mastery, and integrity. His discography includes more than 60 recordings, notably Standard Gonz with the Jerry Bergonzi Quartet on the Blue Note label; he also has 60 recorded song titles registered with ASCAP.

George Garzone is a member of The Fringe, a jazz trio founded in 1972. The Fringe performs regularly in the Boston and New York area and has toured around the world for many years. A veteran jazzman, George Garzone has appeared on over 20 recordings. He began on the tenor when he was six, played in a family band and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Lewis Porter, pianist, educator, author, has performed across the USA and Europe. He appears on 38 albums with Dave Liebman, Marc Ribot, Gary Bartz, John Patitucci, Terri Lyne Carrington, Tia Fuller and others. Holding a Ph.D. in musicology, he is well-known as an educator and author, most notably of a celebrated book on Coltrane. His acclaimed weekly jazz essay series is on Substack, “Playback with Lewis Porter” (https://lewisporter.substack.com).

John Lockwood is an acoustic and electric bassist who has toured the U.S. and Europe with Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Gary Burton, the Mel Lewis Big Band, and The Fringe. He has also performed with Pat Metheny, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Toots Thielemans, Stan Getz, and Art Farmer.

Luther Gray has become a central figure in Boston’s creative music scene, collaborating extensively with musicians including Joe Morris, Taylor Ho Bynum, Jerry Bergonzi, Jim Hobbs, and George Garzone. He has also co-founded projects that