Sonny Rollins, the legendary tenor saxophonist widely celebrated as one of the greatest improvisers in the history of jazz, has died at the age of 95. His passing marks the end of an era for the genre, closing the chapter on the final living giant of the bebop generation.
Rollins passed away peacefully at his home in Woodstock, New York, following a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis, according to his publicist Terri Hinte.
Born Theodore Walter Rollins in Harlem in 1930, he grew up surrounded by the sights and sounds of the neighbourhood's musical golden age. Inspired by Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins, Rollins picked up the alto saxophone before switching to the tenor.
