Sonny Rollins, 'Saxophone Colossus,' dies at 95

He was and remains among my favourite musicians. Never a day passes without listening to his genius. RIP the great Sonny Rollins

Last night, at the Seattle Jazz Fellowship, they paid tribute to the life and work by the great jazz saxophone legend, Sonny Rollins, who passed away at the age of 95. Jazz is very much alive in Seattle. Perfect place to be on a rainy (free) Monday. RIP Sonny. seattlejazzfellowship.org

The legendary jazz saxophonist, who collaborated with the likes of Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, created a form that was thrillingly risky, impetuous, and uncertain. By the end of a six-plus-decade career, his name was synonymous with the art itself. www.newyorker.com/culture/post...

What an incredible life & legacy, the great saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins has passed away at age 95. Sonny first appeared on a Blue Note record date in 1949 as part of Bud Powell’s Modernists & later recorded 4 tremendous leader albums for Blue Note in 1956-57: bluenote.lnk.to/SonnyRollins...

with Sonny Rollins’ passing, there are officially no living participants from Art Kane’s famous “A Great Day in Harlem” photo. a chapter has closed.

Sonny Rollins was the last surviving musician from the iconic “A Great Day in Harlem” photograph from 1958 that featured dozens of jazz legends in Harlem. [📷 Art Kane]

Sonny Rollins, the jazz saxophonist dubbed the “Saxophone Colossus,” has died at the age of 95, according to a statement. Across a career spanning nearly seven decades, Rollins pioneered thematic improvisation that helped reshape modern jazz for generations of musicians. https://cnn.it/3RvXXY8

In 2017, Amanda Petrusich kindly asked to interview me about the Sonny Rollins Bridge Project. i suggested we do so on the Williamsburg Bridge, so we walked up there & talked about Sonny. #SonnyRollinsBridge

The last man standing in that 1958 Harlem photograph has put down his horn. Sonny Rollins, rest in peace. There will never be another. zurl.co/JdxVc

Really good, substantial obituary of Sonny Rollins in the Guardian, with lots of fantastic quotes. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/m...

I wrote a little piece about why Sonny Rollins was a consummate artist, and what that tells us about the difference between art and AI slop publiccomment.blog/p/saxophone-...

Rest In Peace, Sonny Rollins. A true legend and an artist to the core obviously. I’ll never forget my friend Jon Glaser’s story about seeing Rollins in concert and the only thing Rollins said the entire night, just before he started playing, was “You people, stop messing up the oceans.”

A word in memory and honor of Sonny Rollins, who was so powerful that, playing alone, he was a band; he contained multitudes: www.newyorker.com/culture/post...

"Waiting on a Friend" was just an old leftover as the Rolling Stones completed 'Tattoo You.' Then they had the idea to ask saxophonist Sonny Rollins – who died at 95 yesterday after a stellar jazz career – to add a solo. The song was suddenly complete: ultimateclassicrock.com/rolling-ston...

Rollins kept written notebooks from 1959 to 2010. Sam V.H. Reese edited a selection from it which we published in 2024. It's a look inside the mind and music of the Saxophone Colossus.