The 59th Street Bridge is called the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. The Triborough Bridge is now the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. What about naming another bridge after a living New York cultural icon? That’s the goal of the Sonny Rollins Bridge Project.

Sonny Rollins, at 88 still one of New York’s most famous musicians, commented on his experience playing saxophone on the pedestrian walkway of the Williamsburg Bridge: “Playing against the sky really does improve your volume, and your wind capacity. I could have just stayed up there forever.”

The story of Rollins and The Williamsburg Bridge is well-known among members of the jazz community, but it’s certainly not among those outside of it. Jeff Caltabiano, a jazz enthusiast, and his colleagues decided to change that, and they are working towards the renaming of the Williamsburg Bridge to the Sonny Rollins Bridge.

UPDATE: the petition at change.org is nearly at 10,000 signatures as of March 28, 2019!

Rollins’ late teens and twenties were filled with both musical successes and personal downfalls. At the young age of 28, he decided to take a break from public performance. The year was 1959, arguably the greatest and most creative year in jazz. As Rollins’ popularity grew, he felt the need to take time to master his craft and to take full control of his own career. Instead of playing in clubs or recording albums, he played on the bridge for 16 hours a day as people passed by him. The Williamsburg Bridge was the perfect place to practice as there was no neighbors to disrupt and Rollins could blow his horn as loud as he wanted. During his almost 2-year sabbatical, he focused on improving himself-- he picked up yoga and exercising, which helped him stay sober. When Rollins returned to the music scene in 1961, he recorded The Bridge. Rollins’ strengthened techniques and solid confidence can be heard in these recordings, such as his version of You Do Something to Me by Cole Porter:

For many people, this renaming exemplifies New York’s culture by telling a story on a transformation supported by the urban environment. If the movement succeeds, then the Sonny Rollins Bridge would the first New York City bridge to be named in honor of an African-American, and first to be named after a cultural figure instead of a political one.

The bill to rename The Williamsburg Bridge was presented to New York City Council and is currently being sponsored by Council Member Stephen Levin. Now, the bill is awaiting to be presented to the State of New York. As of August 14, 2018, the petition on Change.org has gotten over 8,000 of the 10,000 needed signatures.

What do you think? Are you ready to take the Sonny Rollins Bridge? What other artists should New York City honor like this?

You can listen to more great songbook standards every night and day at wnyc.org/songbook