Sonny Rollins '74: Rescued! Arena

This is Jamie Cullum on BBC Radio 2 and I'm going to play you something

you won't have heard before, unless you were at Ronnie Scott's in 1974.

Why? Well, this has been hiding in someone's attic all these years.

Here it is. This is the inimitable Sonny Rollins

with Alfie, live at Ronnie Scott's in 1974.

APPLAUSE

JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS

It was 38 years ago that the world's greatest saxophonist, then and now,

played a stunning gig at Ronnie Scott's.

That gig was filmed and was thought to be lost until Arena rescued it.

The filming was done for a BBC arts magazine programme called Second House.

Three of the best film cameramen of the time were assigned to the job.

The director was a young arts producer called Alan Yentob.

Whatever happened to him(?)

And it featured a presenter who was new in front of the camera

called Melvyn Bragg.

Although this talented team filmed the whole Ronnie set

and a lot more besides,

only a fraction of three of the numbers appeared on Second House.

This so pained the assistant film editor, Charles Chabot,

that he stayed up all night, putting all the outtakes back together.

Then he stuck the film cans in his attic.

Fortunately, Charles also kept the quarter inch sound tapes

and they've now been remastered to full digital stereo quality.

In the 1970s, film cutting rooms

only printed some of their rushes on colour stock.

The rest was black and white.

It's that copy that Charles kept in his attic.

We thought both the black and white prints

and the colour had a real period quality

and it's this that has been lovingly restored

by some clever BBC technicians.

Sonny Rollins always had a soft spot for England.

He was here in 1965, at the height of swinging London,

when he wrote the theme for the 1966 Michael Caine film, Alfie,

one of his most popular pieces.

When he was in London, Sonny would drop into Bill Lewington's music shop in Shaftesbury Avenue.

It's the same one, only it plays in C sharp only.

Oh, it only plays in C sharp?

-Well, I must try it and see.

-Try it.

1974 caught Sonny Rollins at an interesting point

in his personal and musical development.

He'd just returned from a break from playing and recording

and was full of fresh musical ideas.

HE PLAYS JAZZ MUSIC

This 1974 set contains some great examples of what Rollins does best -

solo improvisations, where he weaves together

disparate and unlikely material.

The American Songbook, show tunes, novelty numbers, nursery rhymes.

In one, I heard The Nearness Of You, That's Swell,

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

and, I think, the theme to Toytown as well.

The band Sonny Rollins brought to London in 1974

was maybe a little funkier and more electric than his '60s bands.

His parents were from the Virgin Islands,

and Rollins was open to music from all over the world,

incorporating it into his own playing.

He now had an electric bassist, Bob Cranshaw.

And a drummer, David Lee,

who could've come straight from Earth, Wind & Fire.

Following our world music thread,

he had a blistering Japanese guitarist, Yoshiaki Masuo,

who's here just referred to as Masuo.

And then there was soprano saxophone player, Rufus Harley,

who decided to master one of the world's most difficult instruments -

certainly in a jazz context...

HE PLAYS

To achieve what he wanted,

immersion in Highland culture had to be total - kilt, sporran and all.

I think you'll enjoy this time capsule from 1974,

rescued from the jaws of destruction.

Sonny and his band are as hot as ever, but, for me,

it's also a touching reminder of the Ronnie Scott Club in its pomp.

Hosting the cream of the world's jazz talent,

but with the added dimension of the man himself, Ronnie Scott,

still introducing the acts personally,

in his unique, avuncular, wisecracking style.

..Masuo on the guitar,

Rufus Harley on the soprano saxophone and the bagpipes,

Bob Cranshaw on the bass and David Lee on the drums.

A very warm welcome to the great Sonny Rollins.

APPLAUSE

THEY PLAY

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

HE PLAYS SOLO

REST OF BAND BEGINS TO PLAY

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

SAXOPHONE PLAYS

BAGPIPES JOIN IN

TUNE OF TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR ON BAGPIPES

SAXOPHONE ACCOMPANIES, FUNKY TUNE KICKS IN

PIPES DOMINATE TUNE OF SWEET CHARIOT

FUNKY INSTRUMENTAL BAGPIPES/SAXOPHONE VERSION OF SWING LOW SWEET CHARIOT

MUSIC SLOWS TO END

APPLAUSE

Thank you very much.

Masuo on guitar.

APPLAUSE

Rufus Harley, bagpipes.

APPLAUSE

David Lee is our drummer. David Lee.

APPLAUSE

And Melbourne Cranshaw on bass.

APPLAUSE

SAXOPHONE RESTARTS

JAZZY SAX SOLO

BAND GENTLY JOIN IN

SAXOPHONE SOLO

GUITAR GENTLY ACCOMPANIES

BACK TO SAX SOLO

APPLAUSE AND WHISTLING

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE AND WHISTLING

APPLAUSE

-More!

-More!

-More!

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

RONNIE SCOTT: Sonny Rollins, ladies and gentlemen.

Sonny Rollins.

-More!

-Moooore!

Bob Cranshaw on the bass, Masuo on the guitar,

Rufus Harley, soprano saxophone and bagpipes

and David Lee on the drums.

APPLAUSE CONTINUES

Sonny Rollins, ladies and gentlemen.

-More!

-More!

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.

Mr Sonny Rollins and the quintet.

It's all over, of course, you have yourselves a good night.

If you feel like coming down here again, they're here until Saturday

and starting on Monday,

Brian Auger and Oblivion Express, whoever they are,

will be in the club, here for a couple of weeks

and then Horace Silver and his quintet will be back in the club

and later in the year Ella Fitzgerald will be back,

so will Oscar Peterson and the trio

and Dizzy Gillespie will be here with a quintet and also Roland Kirk.

CHEERING

-Thank you, Mrs Kirk!

-Get back on!