St. Thomas (song)

St. Thomas is a jazz standard by Sonny Rollins; the song was recorded by him in 1956 on his first album Saxophone Colossus. It is based on a traditional song, which probably comes from the Caribbean. The songwriter Ray Passman published a text version of the song as Down St. Thomas Way.

History of the song

When Rollins was in the studio to record the album Saxophone Colossus, language he chose on a tune that he knew from an early age by his mother, who came from the island of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands. He named the piece after the island. Randy Weston, whose grandfather came from Jamaica, played an almost identical tune as Fire Down There in 1955, also for Prestige Records, a - for Orrin Keepnews a calypso song, which was treated afrokubanisch. Weston stated that if it were a traditional way. Also, Mal Waldron knew the piece (as The Carnival ).

Reception

Rollins version came with the public good. Even though he later took up other issues such as Calypso Do not Stop the Carnival or Brown Girl, he interpreted repeatedly St. Thomas, in the twelve versions there alone by him on board and his most famous composition was. Numerous other jazz musicians took up the piece. Ted Gioia highlights the interpretations of Hampton Hawes (1964 ), Eric Kloss ( with Pat Martino, 1967), Jim Hall / Ron Carter (1972 ), Monty Alexander ( 1979), Branford Marsalis (1987 ), David Murray ( 1992), Bill Holman ( with the SWR Big Band, 1993) and the 18 - minute version of Joshua Redman ( with Pat Metheny, 1994) out.