Call to rename Williamsburg Bridge after saxophonist Sonny Rollins gains steam

Famed Musician's Lesser-Known Brooklyn Roots Revealed

December 21, 2017 By Scott Enman Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Rollins, 87, lived in Clinton Hill and had many friends from the borough. He currently resides in upstate New York. AP Photo/Susan Ragan

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The Williamsburg Bridge will undergo many changes in the coming years as part of the L-train shutdown, but none perhaps more dramatic than this.

Thousands of jazz enthusiasts have joined Councilmember Stephen Levin in calling for the overpass to be renamed after renowned jazz musician Sonny Rollins.

The Williamsburg Bridge, which just celebrated its 114th birthday on Tuesday, was a special place for Rollins.

From the summer of 1959 to the fall of 1961, Rollins would practice on the overpass for up to 16 hours a day.

“One day I was on Delancey Street, and I walked up the steps to the Williamsburg Bridge and came to this big expanse,” Rollins wrote for The New York Times. “Nobody was there, and it was beautiful. I went to the bridge to practice just about every day for two years.”

He added, “Playing against the sky really does improve your volume, and your wind capacity. I could have just stayed up there forever.”

While many people know that Rollins lived in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, he also has some lesser-known Brooklyn roots.

Aside from playing on the Williamsburg Bridge, Rollins resided in Clinton Hill for roughly a decade and had many friends from the borough, according to Jeff Caltabiano, founder of the Sonny Rollins Bridge Project.

“Brooklyn certainly is an important part of Sonny Rollins’ story, and it’s been overlooked a lot,” Caltabiano told the Brooklyn Eagle.

Rollins lived at 195 Willoughby Walk in 1962, and he performed at many Brooklyn jazz clubs throughout his career.

Rollins’ close friend, Charles Wyatt, who was also a saxophonist, lived in Brooklyn and used to meet Rollins on the Williamsburg Bridge to practice.

“It’s a lovely romantic image of two different guys from two different boroughs coming together, meeting on the middle of that bridge and practicing together,” Caltabiano told the Eagle.

He added, “Rollins would play 12 to 16 hours a day on that bridge, even when it was cold out. So long as it wasn’t raining or snowing, he was out there practicing on that bridge. So that’s a sacred space.”

Wyatt’s son Eric, who is Rollins’ godson, grew up in the borough and still lives in Brooklyn.

Rollins, 87, currently resides in upstate New York.

At press time, a petition to rename the bridge had 4,251 signatures from more than 61 countries and all 50 states.

The petition, titled “Rename the Williamsburg Bridge as the Sonny Rollins Williamsburg Bridge,” is addressed to the members of the New York City Council, the New York City Community Boards, the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate.

“When he went up on that bridge, he was trying to get away from fame,” Caltabiano told the Eagle. “There was a lot of pressure on him as a musician and he said, ‘I want to take a time out. I want to focus on myself. I want to focus on my playing. I want to become a better person.’

“He started doing yoga when he was on the bridge … He stopped smoking. For a time he stopped drinking. There were a lot of things that happened to him, and whether you are a music fan or not, you can appreciate this metaphorical idea of the bridge.”

In October, Levin introduced legislation calling on the city and state to officially rename the overpass.

According to Levin, New York’s infrastructure has been renamed for politicians on numerous occasions, but rarely has the same been done for artists and other cultural figures.

“I first listened to Sonny Rollins at the age of 13,” Levin said in a statement. “His music and his story has stayed with me to this day. Looking around New York City you’ll see plenty of monuments to politicians.

“You won’t see many monuments to cultural pioneers that embody the spirit of the city.”

If the City Council passes Levin’s legislation, then it will need to be approved by Mayor Bill de Blasio and then the state Legislature.

Caltabiano hopes the legislation will appear in front of the City Council in January.

Follow reporter Scott Enman on Twitter.