Excellent show from the ageing saxophone colossus and a top-notch band. We had amazingly good seats right in the front row -- when he shuffled right to the front of the stage, Rollins was literally only a couple of metres away.
Rollins is truly a living legend of the jazz world -- having been around since the early 50s and played with most of the greats of that era. He's also one of the few survivors and, given that he turns 80 this year, the fact that he's still playing at all is commendable. So to see him playing with such power, imagination, and sheer presence, at this stage is nothing short of inspirational.
One nice touch was when, near the end of the opening song, he seamlessly slipped in the melody to "Santa Claus is coming to town". Now, I may be overthinking it, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was a little nod to the white afro and beard that he sports these days. In a less subtle gesture to the Sydney audience, he offered up a nice rendition of Waltzing Matilda at the end.
The Opera House is slowly growing on me as a venue. It can feel a little sterile, but I like the fact that the band marches on at the allotted time (8pm) and plays a solid, no nonsense show until 10pm. Sure, it would be nice to have an encore, but I'm rather fed up with the formulaic "encores" at most stadium shows anyway (crowd bays for more; band re-appears to play songs that were clearly always going to be in the show; band leaves the stage again; crowd bays, futilely this time, for more; lights come on and everyone knows it's really over). And the view of the harbour when you emerge from the concert is always impressive. The one severe downside remains getting to and from the venue -- it seems doomed to be at least a moderate hassle when travelling by car.
Guitarist Peter Bernstein gave a very interesting guitar masterclass at the Sydney Conservatorium the following day (which, having been tipped off by my instructor there, I was able to attend).
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