Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge

June 1, 2021
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* When jazz legend Sonny Rollins' neighbors complain about the sound of his practicing, he needs to find a better place than his apartment to make his music. Happily, he knows just the right place--a surprising one: New York City's Williamsburg Bridge. There, with his head in the clouds and his feet on the walkway at the bridge's top, he can play his saxophone as loud as he wants. And the ambient noises made by shrieking seagulls, the bass notes of tugboats, and the percussive sounds of passing subway cars blend with the musical sounds that he makes to offer an informal, open-air concert. Based on a true story, this charming picture book captures and shares the spirit and rhythm of Sonny's playing. The free-verse text makes nice use of figurative language ("The river is a shiny endless song," "the sprawling spider city") and Ransome's gorgeous representational art, richly created with watercolor and collage, expands the story beautifully. Together, text and art are a happy exercise in harmony to delight readers' ears and eyes. Following the story, readers will find back matter offering more details on Rollins' life, beliefs, and music, as well as on the Williamsburg Bridge.

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Starred review from September 20, 2021
In an evocative snapshot of a moment in a musician’s life, Golio (Dark Was the Night) celebrates Black saxophonist Sonny Rollins’s (b. 1930) private escape to a public place: when you can’t/ play in your apartment/ (shhh—the neighbors!)/ you can/ play outside/ if/ you know where.” Ransome (Overground Railroad) creates vivid watercolor and collage spreads of Rollins rehearsing on a fire escape, and the frustrated expressions of noise-averse neighbors, then follows the musician as he strides through city streets with his saxophone in its case, heading for the Williamsburg Bridge walkway, where “you can/ blow/ blow/ BLOW A HORN/ as loud as/ you/ WANT.” Ransome doesn’t stint on background scenery; he paints the structure, the buildings below it, and even the traffic along the river with reverence. Up on the bridge, golden bubbles of effervescent sound burst from the bell of Rollins’s instrument as he plays to his heart’s content, “anything/ EVERYTHING/ that/ comes into his/ mind” against the rhythm of trains “clanking clanging” and “tugboats/ blowing bass notes.” The creators’ deliberate lines and detailed visuals sing like music themselves as they pay homage to an artist who finds a way to ring out loud and clear. Ages 4–8.

Starred review from November 1, 2021

Gr 2-5-This poetic book offers a glimpse into the life and music of Sonny Rollins. It begins with a description of the Bridge and the city surrounding it. Readers then follow Rollins as he is drawn to the bridge to play in harmony with the sounds of the city around him. The real strength of this work is its rich, figurative language. This book would be a terrific support to studying poetry with students. The verse is written in clear lines and stanzas that will support foundational poetry standards. Students could listen to the musicians's work with this narrative and draw parallels between what they hear in the music and what is described in the text. The lush watercolor illustrations are highly detailed and support the text wonderfully. Back matter includes details about and photographs of Rollins and the Williamsburg Bridge. Reading this back matter with students before analyzing the poetry will support their comprehension and connections. Positive representations of Black artists are always welcome additions to library collections, and this work stands out as a biography in verse. VERDICT Recommended for elementary collections, especially for poetry, biography, and music units.-Christina Salazar, Mesquite I.S.D., TX

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2022
When, in 1959, the renowned jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins takes a break from a successful career to hone his skills, he finds the perfect place to do so. Discouraged from practicing in his apartment because the neighbors complain about the noise, Sonny retreats to the ideal setting, NYC's Williamsburg Bridge, where he ascends the stairs and "strolls above / the sprawling / spider city / with / millions of lives / lights / movement and speed / lots of / sound / & / lots of / noise" to blow his horn as loudly as he pleases. Practicing there for two years, he engages in electrifying call-and-response improvisations with the sounds around him, "tugboats / blowing bass notes / back / and forth / Sonny answering / note-for-note / with / low moans / of his / own." Following the return to his career, he records an album titled The Bridge. Golio is known for his picture-book biographies about musicians (Carlos Santana, rev. 11/18; Dark Was the Night, rev. 8/20), and here his precise and expressive free verse is well paired with Ransome's (Overground Railroad, rev. 3/20; Northbound, rev. 1/21) evocative art. In beautiful watercolor and collage, Ransome splendidly captures both the vibrant spirit of the city and the luminous persona of the jazzman. Back matter includes information about Rollins's career and the Williamsburg Bridge as well as some of Rollins's own words. Pauletta Brown Bracy

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from August 15, 2021
Jazz legend Sonny Rollins finds a place to play his saxophone in the open air. He can't play in his apartment because of the neighbors. So he walks down the street, listening to "that / small voice / inside / which says / you need to do this / even if / everyone / wonders / WHY?" He climbs to the walkway at the top of the Bridge (always capitalized, along with the River it "strides") and, all alone, with just the sounds of the train and the tugboats and the sea gulls as accompaniment, he blows and blows his horn. The harmony represented on the page between the "giant jazzman" and the "giant Bridge" is also reflected in the harmony between the poetic text and the artistic images: Both show an African American man who finds peace on his own terms, in his own space, doing what he is meant to do. Endnotes describe Sonny Rollins' career, including his unusual hiatus from the jazz scene, the history of the Williamsburg Bridge where he practiced, and the living legend's words, which are a testament to his character. As usual, Ransome's illustrations convey character, mood, and setting to great effect, matching the spare, effective text with energy and vibrancy that tempt readers to seek out Rollins' sound. This meditation on music, art, and integrity offers inspiration and food for thought. This loving tribute is a generous introduction to a figure worth knowing. (Picture book. 3-9)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2022
When, in 1959, the renowned jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins takes a break from a successful career to hone his skills, he finds the perfect place to do so. Discouraged from practicing in his apartment because the neighbors complain about the noise, Sonny retreats to the ideal setting, NYC's Williamsburg Bridge, where he ascends the stairs and "strolls above / the sprawling / spider city / with / millions of lives / lights / movement and speed / lots of / sound / & / lots of / noise" to blow his horn as loudly as he pleases. Practicing there for two years, he engages in electrifying call-and-response improvisations with the sounds around him, "tugboats / blowing bass notes / back / and forth / Sonny answering / note-for-note / with / low moans / of his / own." Following the return to his career, he records an album titled The Bridge. Golio is known for his picture-book biographies about musicians (Carlos Santana, rev. 11/18; Dark Was the Night, rev. 8/20), and here his precise and expressive free verse is well paired with Ransome's (Overground Railroad, rev. 3/20; Northbound, rev. 1/21) evocative art. In beautiful watercolor and collage, Ransome splendidly captures both the vibrant spirit of the city and the luminous persona of the jazzman. Back matter includes information about Rollins's career and the Williamsburg Bridge as well as some of Rollins's own words.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)