Sonny Rollins Interview: Giving Up Playing

I came across an interview in The Vulture magazine, published yesterday, where saxophone giant Sonny Rollins was in a reflective mood with interviewer David Marchese who talked to him on the phone. “…my life has been in a reflective mode for some years now…It’s gotten more that way since I became unable to blow my horn…to me life is not about enjoyment or, in other words, getting for yourself. That’s not why we’re here. The reason of life, to me, is all about giving. Giving is what gives me happiness. Making somebody else happy is the greatest thing you can do.”

Sonny Rollins has recently donated his archive to the New York Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. In the interview, he also talks about Thelonious Monk, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the impact he felt when he was realizing that he couldn’t play the sax anymore. It is an interesting read:
http://www.vulture.com