It holds little of the romance and nothing of the architectural splendor of its neighbor, The Brooklyn Bridge, but The Williamsburg Bridge, which turns 100 today, is an icon in its own way.r
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The vehicle that opened Brooklyn to the Jews crowded into Manhattan tenements is the source of one of the great iconic stories in American Jazz history…r
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The story goes that in 1959 tenor saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins’ Brooklyn neighbor was pregnant. So that he didn’t disturb her with his practicing, Rollins, who had taken a famous hiatus from the music world, sought another place where he could play his horn. For a year, Rollins walked the Williamsburg Bridge, playing that full, round and rich Rollins sound that needed no band to sound complete. Is there any more poetic image in Jazz than Rollins walking the length of the bridge at night, the sound of his tenor drifting into the air like in a dream?
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The Podcast
Join Naomi Ellis as she dives into the extraordinary lives that shaped history. Her warmth and insight turn complex biographies into relatable stories that inspire and educate.
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