Sonny Rollins

American saxophonist and composer Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins has traversed every jazz movement since bebop. Born in New York's Harlem district on September 7, 1930, he studied piano before taking up the saxophone, first alto, then tenor in 1946, when he made his debut in rhythm'n'blues bands. After a first session for singer Babs Gonzales, he made a name for himself accompanying Art Blakey, Bud Powell, Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro and J. J. Johnson. However, already addicted to drugs, the lack of money to buy them led him to delinquency and, after a ten-month stay in prison for armed robbery, the musician entered rehab. On his release, he played with the Modern Jazz Quartet and Miles Davis, then with Thelonious Monk, Roy Haynes, Max Roach and Clifford Brown. Naturally, he decided to embark on a career as a leader with a quintet called Sonny & the Stars, then with a quartet called Sonny Rollins Plus 4. Well supported by the Prestige label, he recorded the masterpiece Tenor Madness in 1956, featuring John Coltrane, then Saxophone Colossus a month later, at the height of the hard bop frenzy. Sonny Rollins moved on to Blue Note and Contemporary, for whom he recorded the astonishing Way Out West (1957), featuring long solo escapes and dialogues with the double bass. He then signed with Riverside for The Sound of Sonny (1957) and Freedom Suite (1958), featuring a long solo, and with RCA Victor, where he released The Bridge (1962) and Sonny Meets Hawk! with Coleman Hawkins (1963). His highly varied style was matched by an appetite for improvisation, as evidenced by his venture with Impulse! resulting in the soundtrack to the film Alfie (1966) and his freest album, East Broadway Run Down (1967). Then Sonny Rollins stepped back from the stage to find new inspiration in travel and spirituality. Returning to the studio with Next Album (1975), this time the saxophonist remained loyal to one label, Milestone, for seventeen albums up to the Grammy Award-winning This Is What I Do (2000). Although he accompanied The Rolling Stones on Tattoo You in 1981, his aura remains intact, shrouded in a certain mystery. The man with the long breath purified his playing, and at the age of 80 in 2010, his faithful partner and friend Ornette Coleman visited him on stage. On September 11, 2001, when the New York attacks took place, he abruptly left his home, taking only his saxophone with him. His last studio album, Sonny, Please, was released in 2006. Numerous compilations and other live recordings followed, until his retirement from the stage, confirmed in 2014. On May 25, 2026, Sonny Rollins died at his Woodstock home, aged 95.