FLASH NEWS
Jazz legend and saxophone master Sonny Rollins passes away
2026-05-26 23:57:08 / SHOWBIZ
Legendary jazz musician Sonny Rollins, who was known as the "colossus of the saxophone," has died at the age of 95.
He died at his home in Woodstock, New York, on Monday afternoon (May 25), according to a statement from his publicist, who called him "one of the most revered and influential figures in American music."
Rollins had a prolific career that began in the late 1940s. He worked with artists such as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane and released more than 60 albums as a band leader.
He won two Grammy Awards before respiratory illness forced him to retire in 2014.
The cause of his death has not been announced. A 2009 quote from him accompanied the announcement of his death:
“I think that when the creative person ends, he continues in the next existence. I am a person who believes that this life is not the end of everything. A spiritual person does not feel that way.”
In an interview with Jazz Times, Rollins described his immediate fascination with the instrument on which he would build his fame.
“My mother gave me my first saxophone, an alto saxophone, when I was seven years old,” he recalled.
Born Walter Theodore Rollins in New York in 1930 and nicknamed Sonny by his grandmother, Rollins was a gifted musician and was mentored by pianist Thelonious Monk.
He went on to play with many leading jazz artists, including Art Blakey, Bud Powell, and Miles Davis.
In 1956, Rollins released his sixth and one of his most popular albums, Saxophone Colossus.
As his fame grew in the early 1960s, Rollins began training for hours every day on New York's Williamsburg Bridge.
This led to one of his most famous albums, 1962's The Bridge, and has prompted calls for the bridge to be renamed in his honor.
Rollins was at his home in New York, six blocks from the World Trade Center, when the twin towers were attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001.
He and his wife fled to upstate New York, with Rollins carrying only his saxophone. He later told the Guardian newspaper:
"I lost a lot of valuables on September 11th and learned a lesson – things are not where they belong."
In 2010, Rollins received the National Medal of Arts from US President Barack Obama, who said the jazz musician had inspired him to "take risks that I otherwise wouldn't have taken."
Known for long solos, Rollins was considered among the best improvisers and told PBS that he would go on stage with a blank mind and no plan beyond an awareness of the structure of the piece.
"I improvise on it, which I leave entirely to the armed forces. Sometimes I'm surprised by what comes out," he said.
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