Famed tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins has died at the age of 95, his family said on social media Monday.
The jazz musician, who was nicknamed the ‘Saxophone Colossus,’ passed away at his Woodstock, New York home, his spokesperson Terri Hinte told the AP on Monday.
Rollins’ specific cause of death was not announced, according to his spokesperson, who noted that health problems had confined him to his home in recent years.
The musician found recognition early on as a teen jazz prodigy who showed amazing ability to improvise with the music.
Rollins would emerge as one of the icons of the bebop era opposite late legends such as Charlie Parker and John Coltrane.
He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones, performing on a saxophone solo on the group’s 1981 hit Waiting on a Friend from the record Tattoo You.
Famed tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins has died at the age of 95, his family said on social media Monday. Pictured 1977 in New Orleans
Rollins’ health problems had confined him to his home in recent years, a spokesperson said. Pictured 2012 in France
Amid a decades-long career, Rollins took occasional breaks from the limelight, constantly tweaking his style as he described himself to the as ‘a work in progress’ artistically.
He told the AP in 2007, ‘I don’t consider myself a musician that has learned as much as I want to learn.’
Rollins said that it had been ‘excruciating’ listening to earlier work – which garnered him the most attention in his career – as he detected miscues decades later.
Musically, Rollins remained consistently active, having released multiple albums through the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s before health issues led him to retire.
He was diagnosed with the lung disease pulmonary fibrosis, leading to his final live performance in 2012 and full retirement from music two years later.
