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Sonny Rollins, colossus of jazz saxophone, dies aged 95

One of the last stars of the bebop generation, Rollins was an genius of melodic invention and improvisation, working with Davis, Monk, Coltrane and others

Sonny Rollins interview from 2022: ‘I was so close to the sky. It was spiritual’

Sonny Rollins, one of the greatest jazz saxophonists of all time, has died aged 95.

His death was announced on his website on Monday, “with deep sorrow and profound love”. His publicist Terri Hinte also confirmed the news.

No cause of death was given but the statement said “the Saxophone Colossus” died at his home in Woodstock, New York, on Monday afternoon. The statement quoted Rollins reflecting on death: “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.”

Jazz legend Sonny Rollins dies at 95

Sonny Rollins performed from the 1940s until ill health forced his retirement in 2014. (Getty: Chuck Fishman)

Sonny Rollins, the tenor saxophonist and restless genius whose bold, distinctive tone and constant experimentation kept him on the cutting edge of jazz for more than 50 years, has died at age 95.

Spokeswoman Terri Hinte told The Associated Press (AP) that Rollins died at his home in Woodstock, New York. 

She cited no specific cause of death, but said he had been largely housebound over the past couple of years because of various physical problems.

From the 1950s until his passing in 2026, Sonny Rollins had been a pioneering force in jazz.

Sonny Rollins, saxophone 'colossus' dies at 95

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Saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who spent more than two years practising in solitude as a young man on a windswept New York bridge to reinvent his playing and become one of the giants of jazz, has died at the age of 95.

Rollins had recorded the confidently titled Jazz Colossus album in 1956. But the saxophonist remained wracked with self-doubt.

So, in the summer ‌of 1959, he began to play on the windswept pedestrian walkway of New York's Williamsburg Bridge. Initially a place where he could avoid disturbing his pregnant neighbour, the walkway became the site of endless practice.

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