I saw Sonny Rollins at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1997. I bought a single ticket from a classified ad. The group who sold it were about 10 or 12 people who have been attending together for 30 years — the type of people you would want to be sitting with there. Diana Krall opened and by open I mean she was the first of 4 acts and had a free concert a couple days before at a coffee shop down the street — practically…
I saw Sonny Rollins at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2005. I had written a paper that was accepted at a conference, and thing realized the festival was going on at the same time. Unfortunately I learned this very late. Pat Metheny was the featured artist that year, and I'm a big fan, but all the tickets for him were sold out. I checked the lineup and realized Rollins was playing and snagged a couple of tickets for him instead. Honestly, I admit I mainly went to see him because I wasn't sure how much longer he would be playing.
I especially remember that he played "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" - my wife and I still talk about it.