Sonny Rollins, jazz saxophone legend, dies at 95

Sonny Rollins, known as the “Saxophone Colossus” and one of the dominant influences in jazz music during the post-World War II era, died on Monday. He was 95.

Rollions died at his home in Woodstock, New York, The New York Times reported. His death was announced in a statement from Terri Hinte, his publicist.

The musician’s family also made the announcement in a social media post.

No cause of death was given, according to Variety.

Rollins was a force in jazz with his tenor saxophone as a bandleader and sideman from the late 1940s until his retirement in 2014, Rolling Stone reported. During the 1950s, he recorded with Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and Miles Davis, according to the magazine.

Decades later, Rollins played a memorable solo on the Rolling Stones’ 1981 song “Waiting on a Friend,” from their “Tattoo You” album.

Rollins came of age during the bebop era of jazz, but he was not satisfied to be pigeon-holed into one genre of music, the Times reported.

“The music I play is too big to be put into any one style,” Rollins said during a 2002 interview. “Every time I pick up the horn, I want to hear something fresh.”

Variety reported that Rollins’ jazz compositions included “Airegin,” “Doxy,” “Oleo” and “St. Thomas.”

His signature work was the 1957 album “Saxophone Colossus,” Rolling Stone reported.

“To saxophonist Sonny Rollins, the recording of ‘Saxophone Colossus’ didn’t seem that different from any of his previous albums. To jazz fans, however, it would become. along with ‘Way Out West,’ one of the defining albums of Rollins’ career,” the Library of Congress wrote in 2017 when the album was entered into the National Recording Registry. “With only five tracks and under 40 minutes, the album may appear slight, but the quality of the music has earned it a place of honor among jazz fans for more than 60 years. Solidly anchored by a rhythm section of drummer Max Roach, bassist Doug Watkins and pianist Tommy Flanagan, Rollins is able to solo with power, grace and humor.”

The New York City native was born in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem on Sept. 7, 1930, according to the Times.

He began studying music as a youth and made his first recording in 1949, according to the newspaper.

Rollins’ career hit a roadblock during the early 1950s when he became addicted to heroin, the Times reported. But he kicked the habit by 1955 and collaborated with Roach, who played drums; and trumpeter Clifford Brown.

During the 1960s, Rollins playing alongside jazz legends like Don Cherry, Coleman Hawkins, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock and Elvin Jones, Rolling Stone reported. He also composed the music for the 1966 film “Alfie,” according to the magazine.

Rollins was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, the National Medal of Arts in 2010 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2011, Variety reported.

“There are people who burn bright and fade quickly, and there are those who burn bright and keep going. You have to admire that. Sonny has never made a bad record – ever; some are simply greater than others,” Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts said about Rollins during a 2010 interview with The Guardian. “When he stands and plays, there isn’t a saxophone player who doesn’t look on in awe. He’s the last one standing, and he’s still playing as well today as he was then.

“He’s still at the peak at what he does. It’s great inspiration that there isn’t really a time limit, but very few people can do it at that level.”

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