Sonny Rollins, part 1

Sonny Rollins joins Alyn Shipton to select the key recordings from his voluminous catalogue.

Widely regarded as a major living exponent of the tenor saxophone and an innovator since the end of the 1940s, here Rollins focuses on his early years, from albums made with Emo Hope and Kenny Dorham to his masterpieces Tenor Madness and Saxophone Colossus. On the way he discusses calypso, trio improvising and his close friendship with Thelonious Monk.