Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins has often said how much he enjoys playing at Vienne. The sense of the 'big occasion' of playing in front of nearly 8000 people in a 2000 year old venue is not your everyday gig and this is one of the reasons he loves it so much.

Choosing to play without a support act Rollins played two sets totalling just over 3 hours - surely a strength sapping night for any musician let alone someone in their 80's! Yet Rollins was revelling in the music the atmosphere and as I said the 'sense of occasion'.

Playing with regulars Clifton Anderson (Trombone), Bobby Brown (Guitar), Bob Cranshaw (Bass - who very nearly played the previous evening with Maria Schneider), Kimati Dinizulu (Percussion) and Kobie Watkins on the drums.

Rollins took solo after solo, exploring the tunes, mostly standards, either on his own or in a duet with Dinizulu and Watkins, even breaking into song at the end of one.

Nobody left until the very end and he received a 5 minute standing ovation, clearly a genius at work!