My Creative Hero: Sonny Rollins
Marius Toussaint is a social media manager living in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born in Seattle, Washington and raised in Rochester, Minnesota, Marius settled in New Orleans and fell in love with its culture. He enjoys participating in the music scene of the city and searching for social trends.
LBB> Who would you say is your creative hero?
Marius> Sonny Rollins, the Tenor Saxophonist.
LBB> How long has he been important to you and what are your first memories of meeting him or coming across his work?
Marius> He’s been important to me since I was a freshman in high school, when I learned the jazz standard he composed titled 'Oleo.' It was such an enjoyable tune for me to practise and learn, so I dove into his other works and discography. Ever since, Rollins has been a huge inspiration to me in music and life.
LBB> If it’s someone you personally know, how did you get to know him and how has your relationship evolved over the years? If you don’t him, how did you go about finding to learn more about him and his work?
Marius> I have never met or known him personally, so I learned more about Rollins through his albums, interviews, and recordings of his live performances. I was always drawn to the way he sounds on his records. One of his trademarks is his use of rhythm, and, maybe as a result, tweaking rhythm is one of my favourite aspects of improvisation.
LBB> Why is he such an inspiration to you?
Marius> I think it’s his attitude. Here’s a quote from him: “I was getting very famous at the time, and I felt I needed to brush up on various aspects of my craft. I felt I was getting too much, too soon, so I said, wait a minute, I’m going to do it my way. I wasn’t going to let people push me out there, so I could fall down. I wanted to get myself together, on my own. I used to practise on the Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge because I was living on the Lower East Side at the time.”
During the late '50s, Rollins was getting more popular in the jazz world, but he wasn’t happy with his playing. So, he disappeared from the scene for two years just to practise and polish his skills. From the summer of 1959 through the end of 1961, Rollins would practise for 15 or 16 hours a day, no matter what. Afterwards, he came back onto the scene a better player than he was before in all areas. That type of self-reflection and dedication to his craft is something I try to emulate in all areas of my life.
LBB> How does he influence you in your approach to your creative work?
Marius> Sonny Rollins is committed to his own vision of music. And he’s explored many different approaches through collaboration with other musicians, different ways of playing (he pioneered solo jazz saxophone), and rhythmic improvisation.
In my daily work managing clients’ social media presence, I grab ideas from everyone while adding my own spin on things. I’m often riffing off of trends in the cultural Zeitgeist, like meme culture; it sounds silly, but it requires dedication. You also have to know how to apply those trends into a piece of content. That requires a deep understanding of the brand I’m working on, and knowing what makes their audience tick. These core skills allow me to improvise and create original content that’s relatable for people.
These two examples that I worked on for our clients at Zatarain’s show how we adapted a current trend in a way that resonated with our audience.
Zatarains - It's almost that time of year
LBB> What piece or pieces of his work do you keep coming back to and why?
Marius> His album called, 'The Bridge,' is a very important album to me. I listen to it at least once or twice a month. Every track resonates with me on a deep level. Listening to the first track 'Without a Song' brings me joy and makes me want to dance! At the same time, a track like 'God Bless the Child' is inspirational and feels like a culmination of the two years Rollins spent practising every day on that bridge in New York. The album reminds me that progress comes with time, dedication, and patience in all fields of life.
