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Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge
  • Published: 5 January 2022
  • ISBN: 9781984813664
  • Imprint: Nancy Paulsen Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $40.00

Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge

Formats & editions
EBook
19 Oct 2021
Hardback
5 Jan 2022
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James Ransome's glorious art celebrates jazz icon Sonny Rollins and how he found an inspired spot to practice his saxophone when his neighbors complained.

Sonny Rollins loved his saxophone. As a teenager, he was already playing with jazz stars and making a name for himself. But in 1959, at age twenty-nine, he took a break from performing—to work on being a better, not just famous, musician. Practicing in a city apartment didn’t please the neighbors, so Sonny found a surprising alternative—the Williamsburg Bridge. There, with his head in the clouds and foghorns for company, Sonny could play to his heart’s content and perfect his craft. It was a bold choice, for a bold young man and musician.


Sonny’s passion for music comes alive in jazzy text and vivid, evocative paintings of New York City. His story celebrates striving to be your very best self, an inspiration to music lovers young and old.
  • Published: 5 January 2022
  • ISBN: 9781984813664
  • Imprint: Nancy Paulsen Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $40.00
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About the authors

James Ransome

Born in North Carolina, James Ransome is a graduate of the Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration. While still a student at Pratt, James was one of twelve finalists out of two thousand selected to illustrate the annual Citibank calendar. After graduation, James continued to study painting at the Art Students League where his entry into the Society of Illustrators Annual Student Scholarship Competition received the Jellybean award. Currently a member of the Society of Illustrators, James has illustrated numerous books for children, including Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt and Freedom's Fruit. His illustrations also appear on book jackets, greeting cards, puzzles and shopping bags, as well as in magazines and calendars. One of James's paintings is in the Charlotte (North Carolina) Public Library's permanent children's book art collection. James currently lives in Poughkeepsie, New York, with his wife, Lesa, their two daughters, and their Dalmatian, Clinton.
JR

Praise for Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge

PRAISE FOR GARY GOLIO AND JAMES RANSOME (additional reviews on page 2):
     * "Evocative. . . . An ode to a too-little-discussed musician and an excellent introduction to his amazing musical talent."--Kirkus STAR for Gary Golio's Dark Was the Night
     * "Eloquent artwork breathe[s] life into this story . . . An especially strong and vibrant fictive memoir."--PW STAR for James Ransom's illustrations in This Is the Rope (by Jacqueline Woodson)