Hall High School graduate and West Hartford native Aidan Levy will speak at Real Art Ways as part of a national tour for his book, ‘Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins.’
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Author Aidan Levy, a native of West Hartford, will speak about his book, “Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins,” at Real Art Ways in Hartford on Friday, April 7 at 7 p.m.
Levy, a 2004 graduate of Hall High School, recently completed his doctorate at Columbia University. He is also the author of “Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed,” and the editor of “Patti Smith on Patti Smith: Interviews and Encounters.”
His newest book focuses on Sonny Rollins, the most renowned and celebrated jazz musician alive today, a saxophonist who performed and recorded with such greats as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Billie Holiday. Based on over 200 interviews with Rollins himself, as well as his family members, friends, collaborators, and extensive personal archives, the book is a painstakingly researched portrait of the legendary yet elusive musician, composer, civil rights activist, and environmentalist.
The New York Times called it “an exhaustive and authoritative biography of… an important figure in the evolution of jazz.”
“… this book works on several levels,” reviewer Ben Ratliff said. “It’s a book for people who are already interested in jazz, but even for people who don’t know about that, it’s about a great American artist of the twentieth century – one of the greatest.”
The event is free and requires no tickets or reservations. Real Art Ways is at 50 Arbor St., Hartford, CT 06106. For more information, call 860-232-1006 or go to https://www.realartways.org/ev
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