Saxophone Colossus A film by Robert Mugge (2009)

"Tenor saxophone master Sonny Rollins has long been hailed as one of the most important artists in jazz history, and he still is viewed as the greatest living jazz improviser. In 1986, filmmaker Robert Mugge produced this feature-length portrait, named after one of his most celebrated albums. The project began in May of that year when Mugge and a small crew accompanied Sonny and Lucille Rollins to Tokyo, Japan where the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra premiered his Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra. The next big shoot was in August, when Mugge and a larger crew filmed Rollins and his ensemble performing at sculpted rock quarry Opus 40 in Saugerties, New York. The most surprising part of the latter concert was that, midway through his performance, Rollins leaped from a 6-foot cliff, fell to his back on the ground and, in spite of suffering a broken heel, continued to play his saxophone. Rounding out the production were interviews with Rollins, his wife Lucille and various jazz critics."