Sonny Rollins, Jazz's Saxophone Colossus and Greatest Improvisor, Dead at 95
Key takeaways
- Sonny Rollins, the jazz legend dubbed the Saxophone Colossus who redefined the language of the genre with his inimitable improvisational skills, died on Monday at his home in Woodstock, NY.
- His death was confirmed in a statement by his publicist, Terri Hinte.
- The Harlem-raised Rollins came to jazz at an early age, first as a pianist before switching to the saxophone.
Sonny Rollins, the jazz legend dubbed the Saxophone Colossus who redefined the language of the genre with his inimitable improvisational skills, died on Monday at his home in Woodstock, NY. He was 95.
His death was confirmed in a statement by his publicist, Terri Hinte. A cause of death was not immediately available. The statement announcing Rollins death included a 2009 quote from the musician: I think when the creative person ends, he continues in the next existence. I m a person who believes this life isn t the be-all and end-all of everything. A spiritual person doesn t feel like that.
The Harlem-raised Rollins came to jazz at an early age, first as a pianist before switching to the saxophone. My mother gave me my first saxophone, an alto saxophone, when I was 7 years old. I got the saxophone and I went into the bedroom and I started playing — that was it, Rollins told Jazz Times. I was in seventh heaven. My mother had to call me: It s time to eat dinner and come out. I could have been there forever. I love playing by myself. I m practicing but I m also communicating with my musical muse.