Sonny Rollins’ jazz saxophone style: stages of formation

Statement of the problem. “ Living legend” – this is what the outstanding jazz saxophonist Theodore Walter “Sonny” Rollins (born in 1930) is called. An important period in the formation of jazz is associated with his name, which can be described as transitional, stylistically diverse, preceding the innovations of the second half of the 20th century. “Eclectic jazz”, demonstrated by S. Rollins, actually means a diverse palette of genres that are part of his holistic style. His playing is marked by the depth of expressive emotionality and richness of sound, which arouses lively interest in his work among both listeners and jazz scholars. However, many of his works still remain outside the scope of research, which indicates the relevance of the proposed topic. Objectives, methods and novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is to determine the parameters that influenced the formation of S. Rollins’ jazz saxophone style in the process of its evolution. A complex of general scientific and musicological research methods, such as genre and stylistic, biographical, historical, structural and functional, and interpretative, was applied. The novelty of the research resultes lies in identifying the peculiarities of the statement and development of S. Rollins’ jazz style. Research results. The researchers define S. Rollins’ style as “eclectic”, since his works combine different jazz styles – swing, bop, pop jazz. The album “This is What I Do” reflects a retrospective orientation that is emphasized by S. Rollins’ desire to combine different jazz styles and trends, to show, on the one hand, their continuity, and on the other hand, the possibility of their actualization in the conditions of new “extratrends”. The new qualities of S. Rollins’ saxophone intonation are demonstrated in the recording of the concert “Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert”, in the album “Sonny, Please”, a three-part album under the general title “Road Shows”. The latter of the above includes more than 30 pieces and is based on touring concerts and studio recordings of the period 2000–2010. Conclusion. In S. Rollins’ work, three periods can be distinguished: the first is mono-style with a focus on hard bop (until 1959, that is, until the first creative “pause”); the second is poly-style or “eclectic” (from the beginning of the 1970s, when his second “retirement from the stage” ended); the third is retrospective, combining the features of the two previous ones in a “new mono-style” (from the 1980s to the present). Remaining himself, S. Rollins managed to encyclopedically summarize the key trends and directions of world music over a significant time period – from the 1950s to the present.