Remembering Sonny Rollins

September 7, 1930 – May 25, 2026

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Tenor-saxophonist Sonny Rollins passed away on May 25, 2026 at the age of 95.

Rollins, one of the greatest saxophonists of all time, was born Sept. 7, 1930 in New York City.

Part of a musical family, he grew up in Harlem, took piano lessons starting when he was nine, switched to the alto-sax when he was 11 (inspired by Louis Jordan) and in 1946 permanently settled on the tenor; his musical idol was Coleman Hawkins.

Rollins, who began playing in bands while in high school, mastered bebop, and in 1949 made his recording debut on sessions led by Babs Gonzales, J.J. Johnson, and Bud Powell, holding his own with Fats Navarro on the latter date.

Sonny Rollins’ very productive career can be divided into three periods.

In the 1950s he kicked a drug habit, recorded with Miles Davis (including a session in which he played next to Charlie Parker),Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie, wrote such songs as “Oleo,” “Doxy,” “Pent-Up House,” the calypso “St. Thomas,” and “Airegin,” was a member of the Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet, and led a series of superb albums for such labels as Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary, and Blue Note.

By the late 1950s, he and his good friend John Coltrane were considered the top tenor-saxophonists in jazz, even topping Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Ben Webster.

Despite that and the acclaim he was receiving, Rollins stopped performing in public from mid-1959 until early 1962; he felt that his playing was not up to the very high level that he wanted.

Instead, Rollins practiced in private including at nights on the Williamsburg Branch.

In Jan. 1962, he returned, recording the classic album The Bridge in a pianoless quartet with guitarist Jim Hall.

While his playing at the beginning of his second period was not that different from where it had been in 1959, he soon opened up his music to the influence of Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and other younger players while retaining his distinctive sound, sense of humor, and knack for reviving forgotten show tunes.

Rollins’ recordings for RCA and Impulse found him stretching himself and often performing with younger players including two (cornetist Don Cherry and drummer Billy Higgins) from Ornette Coleman’s quartet, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones.

Almost unnoticed at the time is that he went into “retirement” again during 1969-mid 1972.

When he returned in 1972 with the record Next Album (which included a long unaccompanied stretch on “Skylark”), he was back for good.

During his long third period, Sonny Rollins often took marathon solos over fairly simple material with his rhythm section (which almost always included Bob Cranshaw on electric bass) in a mostly accompanying role.

While he was sometimes criticized for his material and the faceless role that he gave his rhythm section, Sonny Rollins always displayed the rare talent of being able to play long passionate solos, building off each tune’s melody with an endless assortment of colorful and creative variations, and never coasting.

Rollins kept up a very busy schedule, touring the world, playing before sellout crowds, and recording regularly until 2012 when at 82 he was forced to retire due to health problems.

He still maintained a presence in the jazz world and was interviewed regularly in his later years;

His life and career are fully covered in Aidan Levy’s large and superb book Saxophone Colossus: The Life And Music Of Sonny Rollins.

Here is Sonny Rollins being interviewed by the “Jazz Video Guy” Bret Primack (who interviewed Rollins many times) about his association with Miles Davis; thanks are due Bert for the use of this very interesting interview.

-Scott Yanow

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