Sonny Rollins - St. Thomas

St. Thomas
Tenor Sax : Sonny Rollins
Piano : Kenny Drew
Bass : Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen
Drums : Albert "Tootie" Heath

[@tncutiepie83]

I first heard this song on the radio about ten years ago, but had no idea what it was. The melody seared my brain for years, and I hummed it to tons of deejays and so called music lovers, but no one could tell me what it was. Well, my parents were on a cruise and my mom heard a band playing the tune I had hummed to her. After the show, she hunted down one of the musicians and got the name of the song. Best gift she ever gave me... Besides life of course.

[@radishman6563]

what a story!! that's such a satisfying feeling

[@dariuslumpkin4716]

Me too!

[@grantkoeller8911]

It is in the Bb tenor sax Real Book. Piano key Concert C... Tenor sax key D... Alto sax key of A

[@axschia]

20 years ago now is insane

[@제이비-u5b]

Same story for me

[@drbalalajka]

My dad's favorite tune. Or one of them at least. He always hummed this song when he was in a good mood, it was a sure sign. He would have turned 70 today so that's why I'm listening to this clip. Sorta trying to imagine what he would have felt had he heard it. I think he would have loved how the pianist quotes Rollins' original solo from the record.

[@casparjeidsbraten5604]

This song was played at my dads funeral. Its was a beautifull thing! As my mom and dad had great memories of the song! My father used to run a jazzfestival in Norway! And Sonny rollins visiting their home was a great ordeal for them! :) I have heard the song many times through my childhood. Many good memories! :) RIP dad! I miss you so much!

[@jimvalko6044]

Nice drum solo. He plays it with the melody going on in his head. You can hear him accent just as if Sonny was playing the melody with him.

[@giovannibortoluzzi1384]

oh yes, that's why I love jazz drumming. It's all about the inspiration given by the main melody. At the service of it! :-)

[@jabelsjabels]

that was the best bit of advice one of my teachers gave me

[@jocelynhierso2720]

Monsieur le Batteur joue avec ses tripes. Je ne me lasserai jamais d'ecouter Sony Rolins.

[@prilljazzatlanta5070]

Yep. Thats what seaparates jazz drummers from guys who just create beats and keep time

[@callmejeffbob]

The whole performance is incredible. I love the way Tootie Heath never strays too far from from the original rhythm during his 4 or 5 chorus drum solo, during which he maintains the festive flow of a Calypso tune. Every second is great, but to me, my favorite part is the 2 choruses Rollins plays right after the drum solo, playing spectacular variations of the melody...Sonny Rollins was born to play the tenor sax and we're lucky to witness it! Sadly he has retired from playing, around 2011 or so. I feel privileged to have seen him play live on 4 occasions between 1972 and 2007.

[@2330Silk]

I recently read a magazine article that stated there was a time in Sonny's life when he quit performing and got up everyday and went up on a bridge and just practiced all day. Of course everybody thought he was crazy, but I like that kind of devotion to his craft.

[@2330Silk]

I wish more of the Jazz legends were still alive as he is.

[@rillloudmother]

he took sabbaticals from professional music at least twice. the reason he did it is due to his personal commitment to music. to play like sonny, or trane or bird and countless others, you have to give your life to it and so he saw something that he had to do in order to get to the next summit.

[@2330Silk]

Yes, I've recently heard that he envied how good other guys were. I like that humility in him. Of course we know today that he was better than most, but HE had things he needed to prove to HIMSELF. It was about him wanting to to do things with the sax he felt he couldn't do without concentrated practice.

[@FabienAurejac]

I read on facebook some time ago that there's a wish from certain people to make this bridge renamed with Sonny Rollins reference.

[@StompL7]

I love your comment ! it's really inspirational

[@charlesasche5813]

My favorite St. Thomas, the whole group is so tight and Tootie plays the melody on the tubs.

[@Embowafa2004]

Sonny is a Beast. Neils-Henning is a freaking monster also. He is playing more changes than I hear most bass players play.

[@derstern2933]

NHOP is a beast. (The good kind.)

[@aubreycamachomd5717]

As a native of the USVI, I grew up on this song along with the rich influx of calypso from the West Indies islands and salsa from my parents birth land, Puerto Rico. Even though the rhythm section is jazz, the tune from Sonny Rollins is completely island calypso, including his marvelous solo. Not many continental Americans have the insight and talents to express another genre of music so genuinely. Mr. Rollins is pure magic.

[@tomscott1741]

Sonny Rollins is from the islands so that makes sense, I think he came over here when he was a baby

[@VIProfessor]

Sonny Rollins was born in New York just a couple years after his parents moved from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. He grew up as part of a VI community in New York. Although he is as deeply rooted in the jazz tradition as it is possible to be, he has always, to my St. Thomian ears, played the saxophone with a West Indian accent. 😊

[@aubreycamachomd5717]

@@VIProfessor Thanks for the info. It all makes sense now...St. Thomas.

[@Rasworth]

I can assure what he is saying is a fact as kids in the Virgin Islands 🇻🇮 St.Thomas is a song we would hear often.. even our local steel pan bands play it and our Quelbe bands I don’t kno who actually wrote the song but Sonny said it was a song his mother used to sing to him as a child .. I always come back to this song to reminisce on how simple and good life was growing up in ST.Thomas will always love home

[@paulostroff99]

Superbly played by the finest jazz sax player that ever lived.

[@Frankie-O]

He's splendid.

[@KentuckyBrad]

No where near in the same league as coltrane

[@chrisrichardsonpiano]

Finally a pianist lets the bassist get on with a solo and doesn't comp the crap out of it. Great Bass solo.

[@Gopherborn]

Uh ever listened to Charles Mingus' solos?

[@chrisrichardsonpiano]

good point. i love mingus

[@teukuaziz]

Of course no one dares to do that. Mingus is the band leader.

[@TheEleatic]

The performance of this song captures all that Sonny Rollins was. Joy. Play. Invention. Curiosity. Optimism. If there were dark days in his life, he chased them away with a beautiful melody. I saw him in concert at Massey Hall in Toronto (the site of another historic concert that he praised). I wish I could summon a tenth of the passion he could.

[@hiddengemvids6637]

He is still alive...

[@jorgek92]

*is

[@emmetfettig9196]

@@jorgek92 RIP

[@jazzuffe]

Music can not be better. Rollins at his peak. NHØP at the beginning of his. Kenny Drew at his peak and "Tootie" Heath the most underrated drummer in jazz history. This is just fantastic!

[@WrenDog]

Damn, I'm a bass player in my High School Jazz Band, and this bass player blew my mind.

[@Artoofeva]

I could listen to this song for hours and never be bored. It's simply that good.

[@cdissler]

What a stud!!! Just turned 80 and still a saxophone colossus!!!

[@MrHaaajpojken]

Love the way the light glints of his horn! It's like it is radiating pure musical energy ;)

[@fromouterspace21]

This version is from Sony Rollins in Denmark 1968 One of the best

[@Frankie-O]

🇩🇰

[@geraldjohnson848]

Sept.7: Happy birthday THE Jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Thank you and God bless. Thanks for the upload, BluesBeBopper2000. Blessings

[@jerrybaustian5256]

And yet another birthday rolls around for the man.

[@floydfloyd2311]

Oh if only my Dad was around.... I can see him(Teddy John Francis) sitting there with a Big smile on his face... Bobbing his head with the tune🎼🎶 clicking his fingers and stomping his feet 🎶🎼 My Dad Loved Jazz... Ya I got it from there 😍

[@lenfantdestoises3048]

Where's the ten hour version?

[@Frankie-O]

10 minutes, 30 seconds.

[@Uranus24672]

@@Frankie-Oum aschtually it’s 10 min 28 seconds 🤓🤓🤓

[@adamatari]

Much, much better than the studio version. Much stronger calypso feel, in both rhythm and solos, particularly Sonny's solo. It makes me wonder if they deliberately held down the feel on the take for the record.

[@Archimatecture]

+adamatari I agree, this has a great verve and feeling to it. It just feels more alive than the studio version, which is still awesome!

[@frednolasco]

what the hell all the solos are incredible WHAT MASTERS THANK GOD FOR THEIR EXISTANCE

[@jocelynhierso2720]

Je ne me lasserai pas d'écouter ce quart et. Quand j'étais jeune à Paris fin des années 70 j'allais dans pas mal de concert par exemple: ART BLAKEY......... Merci !

[@dennismenace01]

I met Sonny Rollins a couple of times personally in London and many years later in Vancouver. He was a nice man who walked with a limp.

[@Frankie-O]

G-Man (1986)

[@billmcalpine]

Cool to see the young Orsted-Pedersen, didn't know he ever played with Sonny. That makes almost everybody.

[@himynameississy]

This video is what harmony, peace, and happiness sound like

[@Frankie-O]

😌

[@高橋正博-s2u]

ameblo.jp/galwayera/entry-12166919238.html How frequently have I been listening to this "St Thomas"?. I have been mainly listening to modern jazz works of you and Miles Davis, John Coltrane. The brilliant playing which can strongly feel warm humanity is due to the characteristic sounds of yours. you have most marvelous tenor sax tone as well as excellent improvisation. I shall continue listening to your sound.

[@WrenDog]

Being a jazz bassist myself, I must say, that bass solo blows my mind.

[@blacknvicious]

Sonny is the master. This is honestly some amazing jazz from my favorite era in the genre. This piece just screams class. I was a chef in a Jazz Lounge and our house band played it every weekend. I will never tire of hearing the next improv rendition!!

[@louiesimon5292]

Beautiful playing. Powerful drum solo. Love it.

[@KroMcLovinFaSho]

I saw Sonny in Central Park around 2003-ish. Even at 60-something, Sonny has the greatest stamina of any musician I've ever heard.

[@callmejeffbob]

His birthday is September 7, 1930 so in 2003 he was 72 or 73, depending on the date. He retired from performing in 2012 at the age of 82. The last time I saw him was in 2007 and was playing long, energetic, creative solos. He had the audience in the palm of his hand.

[@grantkoeller8911]

@@callmejeffbob check your math!!!!

[@callmejeffbob]

@@grantkoeller8911 I was responding to KroMcLOvinFaSho who saw Rollins in 2003 or thereabouts. Sonny Rollins was born in September of 1930. So depending on when in 2003 Mr, KroMcLovinFaSho saw Rollins he would have been either 72 or 73. But yes I also see my typo re his retirement age. I mis-typed 62 instead of 82. Oops....I will correct that...thanks.

[@cindychristian1700]

I simply love ❤this. That's why Sonny is one of my sax favorites. And those bass and drum solos left me stunned. I never heard or seen anything like it.!!

[@Jackrabbit710]

I could watch this video over and over again.. 4 amazing solos by 4 amazing musicians.

[@DD-it1th]

2 minutes and 51 seconds of pure magic. I picked up the saxophone when I heard Lou Donaldson’s It’s Your Thing. I play 2 hours a day every day because I want to learn St Thomas. I reckon I have another 20 years to go.

[@shawnriffhard]

Stay with it. We're counting on ya!

[@あき-p8x9h]

2005年頃テレビで見てライブあるのを知って行きました。 ライブも最高で終わった後クーペさんがホールにいて「ありがとうございました」って言ってくれたのを覚えています。 あの時はかなり病んでて、けどクーペ&shifoの歌に支えられて、今でも生きてられるのは、クーペ&shifoのおかげです。 まわりの人間がみんな死んでしまうあの時、一線越えずに済んだのに感謝します。 あの時から感じていたけどクーペさんは死生観とか昔ながらの日常にあった愛を伝えていたんですよね。だからこそ伝わってきた。 作品は残るけどshifoさんにも苦労を共にしてきたものを、いつか産み出してくださるのを期待しています。

[@manudibash]

A Master piece ,the melody alterations on the tenor sax are heavenly!!!

[@TheDobligator]

This dude Heath is a monster

[@davidbayer59]

I played it in church on Christmas Eve on a Jazz Electric Guitar, ES 335 with my daughter accompanying me on twin bongos. I don't know how well we did, but it was accepted as fantastic and fit right it. What a wonderful and versatile song. It was well received and we loved doing it. Thanks Sonny. Carribean Christmas!

[@ThEldeRS]

everyone looks so chilled and you can see their having fun.these is real music

[@mussman717word]

All four of these people are extremely talented, it's just unbelievable.

[@jangunnarolsen5946]

Lovely Dancing,swinging Caribbean music with GREAT musicans (read Kenny Drew piano, Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen bass, and Al Heath drums) plus of course the MAN himself Sonny R

[@SCACCOMATTO100]

07;18 Sunday morning! what a bliss,gorgeous way to start my day.thank you.

[@bensush]

Each musician is playing so beautifully, I am eternally jealous to anybody who saw Sonny during this period.

[@Isar15]

Incredible! The drummers solo is great!

[@robert3967]

To hear drums resonate the way they were designed to, you must listen back in time to when people knew how to tune them and also play in such a way as to draw rich sound from them. Well done, Tootie. A seemingly lost art.

[@ScabNainz]

I managed to see Sonny for the first time when he came to UCSB a couple of years back. I was amazed 1) that I got to see him, and 2) he could still play like few others, even at age 80. Fantastic show.

[@Artoofeva]

This very song and Sonny Rollins in general is my inspiration when I play in Jazz Band. Wherever I go to college, it better have a Jazz Band.

[@mbuyfan]

Thats jazz at its best I love it.

[@razzec19]

Great piece! I feel Bossa nova in the air... This track must be on my "Jazz goes to Brazil" playlist.

[@aye667]

he actually witnessed this song to hs mother who was from the Caribbean.

[@thezenbum]

Calypso.

[@larrysteffler5936]

One of the greatest jazz artist that ever touched a horn. No one like Sonny, not even close. His improvisations are sometimes hard to keep up with, and full of surprises.

[@shyrubbybubby]

The main melody of this song gives me weird feeling of nostalgia. But I really love it. I hope I can play it someday. Also that was the best bass solo i’ve ever heard!

[@paulostroff99]

Sensational! Bravo! He was unquestionably the very best saxophonist.ever.

[@nachopalmiero]

I can listen this song thousand times without getting tired

[@MrAFLANDERS]

A couple of seconds into Sonny Rollins and you are transported heart and song to St. Thomas. Thank you for your coolness.

[@rosscamonster1597]

Tootie blows my mind!!! some sick drum work:) I love what he does with the snare:) Incredible.

[@Frankie-O]

🤯

[@booksandallthatjazz1654]

Love this. Thank you. They all contribute tasteful, interesting, melodic solos.

[@PierreVeniot]

Probably the best version ever!

[@jazzuffe]

This is incredible! The best band all Sonny has haved so far. The definitive version of St.Thomaso...

[@dinoduck1909]

I discovered this song from the GTA 4 radio and immediately came here to hear this masterpiece

[@Dang...]

Thanks so much for posting this beautiful example of artistic creative excellence! So uplifting.

[@Frankie-O]

🙌

[@TheElpaso57]

He are the best at the rytmisk play, on sax, and loogisk inproveision.. Thank you! Rollins!

[@jeffreymartin5249]

A sheer Masterclass in Musicianship.

[@mindbodylightsound10]

Gotta hand it to NHOP on this one. This is one of the best solos I've ever heard from him.

[@ThEldeRS]

they play so chilled and realy having fun playin'.these is how everybody should play!

[@alisonbrace7120]

I’m here in 2020, known about this song and have loved it for some time but damn, this live/studio version is what dreams are made of! 🎷 🎶 🎹

[@alambada]

Fantastico, molte persone ascoltano la musica senza essere passate da qui !!!

[@paulyoung861]

MUC 300 1.) Performers and instrumentation: Sonny Rollins- Tenor sax Kenny Drew- drums Niels-Henning Orsted Pederson- bass Albert "Tootie" Heath- drums 2.) School/Style of Jazz: Bebop 3.) Form: 32-bar AABA 4.) Reason for inclusion: I enjoyed Rollin's solo in the beginning, however I was equally impressed bass solo in the middle, especially the speed and duration he played.

[@hardyblues2194]

Paul Young 2) it's latin/calypso 3) Form is 16 bars

[@gabrielezirulia507]

Hardy Blues Kenny Drew-Piano

[@abdulaihamza952]

Jazz at it best !! Legend sonny rollings

[@TheIsraDave]

I wouldn't be surprised if he was the greatest improvisational musician of all time.

[@thethesaxman23]

Sonny makes it look so effortless!! Love his ideas!

[@Saxophone1590]

If I close my eyes I see st. thomas...... beatufull!!!!

[@JeffDahlin]

I'm used to the version on the 'Saxophone Colossus' EP, but there's something about this version that I really like. It's almost even more upbeat, and a bit faster. Plus it's cool to actually watch him play.

[@bruceacierto1183]

holding the beat/melody at the back of their minds for 10min.??! awesome jazz players are

[@cameroncooper4175]

Holding the groove actually becomes easier the longer it goes on.

[@devils_in_a_juice_box4691]

the melody can be hard though

[@robellis2011]

all fantastic musicians at the top of their game - but for me that Pederson bass solo - stunning! thanks for sharing

[@mNareznoy]

sonny can hold an interesting improv for 12 hr no stop. he is never out of ideas-amazing!!

[@matthk]

We saw him last night in Melbourne at the Town hall. He's 80 now, and still blowing a storm. :-)

[@haimerej1000]

Thanks Mr Rollins, you saved my day !!!!!!!

[@Richthofen80]

Long after we're all gone, I hope if some distant alien race finds anything left behind by us, they find this recording. It's too perfect.

[@Lcaceres74]

Sonny rollins is just amazing! i wish i could see him play at the disney concert hall this summer!

[@bendoinnothin6076]

Man love the sound of those drums

[@danibosnjak2902]

Fantastic combo,genius ofRollins up front

[@FearlessDreamer3]

Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen (bass) and Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums) deserve special kudos for their beautiful melodic playing!!!!

[@ronweinstock1557]

What a great rhythm section this was and backed so many in Copenhagen and Europe.

[@Frankie-O]

🇪🇺

[@JDCullum]

absolutely riveting on so many levels.

[@madmanhahaha]

I went to see Sonny recently about a year ago and he was still groovin like he is exactly in this video. and now he's eighty.

[@AngeloLunch]

I heard this driving around Liberty City in GTAIV

[@hitoshinakai1020]

ジャズが好きになったきっかけの曲は、ソニーロリンズの「ＳＴ. THOMAS」１８の時。当時神戸には沢山のジャズ喫茶とライブハウスがあった。コーヒー一杯250円で、何時間でも居られた。タバコの煙が立ちこめる薄暗い中で、スピーカーからドデカい音で鳴っていた。お気に入りの「knee knee」も、今はない。

[@jocelynhierso2720]

En français, je préférais les drums de la version originale qui ont bercées mon enfance.une année avant de naître.. Bravo SONNY.

[@charliedavis2]

Everyone who likes this check out Joshua redman's village vanguard live recording it doesn't disappoint 😃

[@kylekotula7266]

Much agreed! He basically opens with one of Sonny's licks.

[@TheBigOnkelDolf]

There are rollers and non-rollers. And then there is Sonny Roller, the inventor of roll & roll. Happy belated birthday, Sonny Roller!

[@sirstrongbad]

for a lot of the people listening it's from before they were alive.. recent is relative... having originated at the beginning of the 20th century... if compared to classical composers jazz is recent, but when the oldest stuff most of the younger people online are listening to is from the 90's MAYBE from the 70's if their parents chose to enlighten them, jazz is quite old.

[@PaulBielicki]

What an excellent rendition of one of his most well known and great tunes.

[@mcimoff]

Beautiful!

[@benilak]

9:12 is the shizniz. I've always wondered, when taking turns improving, how does the rest of the band know exactly when to come back in? Has it all been previously planned out, or is there some kind of musical queue? Blows my mind

[@barbaraparis3907]

There is a form of the tune. 32 bars most commonly. They all play thru the form and improvise on the chord changes. The band members listen to the solo and when it comes back to the mid register it signifies that the soloist is complete which is usually includes a subtle look. If he is trading. The musicians take a portion of the form, 32 bars, or divide that by eight and share thru the 32 bar form.

[@mottahead6464]

As I was watching this video the sun just shined in through my window.

[@last8frames]

Where on earth did you even find this video? this is amazing! One of my favorite saxophonists of all time (and the one who got me into jazz, the reason I play tenor)

[@genesisPiano]

I had trouble finding this when I looked for it awhile ago. And what a nice vid of it. I really enjoyed esp the piano and Rollin's improv. Thanks for putting this up!

[@joshchapple9435]

i hate how amazing music like this is not as popular as the crap thats popular today

[@trebubu3439]

Because this shit is terrible lol

[@christarrent3465]

Not all music today is bad. I mean take a look at kamasi washington

[@lorettagreene6350]

“ Working Girl” sound track favorite moment . Wedding crashers” 💃🏻🕺🏻 Happy Birthday, Mr. Rollins 🎵