Jazz Great Sonny Rollins Dead at 95
Sonny Rollins, the legendary jazz saxophonist, passed away at the age of 95 at his home in Woodstock, New York. He was known for his significant contributions to jazz music and his struggles with addiction, which he overcame to return to performing. Rollins leaves behind a rich legacy, including influential recordings and a lasting impact on the jazz genre.
- ▪Sonny Rollins was born in Harlem in 1930 and rose to fame after World War II.
- ▪He struggled with heroin addiction in the 1950s but later overcame it through experimental treatment.
- ▪Rollins was known for his improvisational style and was a key figure in the evolution of jazz music.
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Jazz Great Sonny Rollins Dead at 95 Greg Byrnes | 3:27 PM on May 26, 2026 AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, File Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins, a legendary sax Jazz musician, died at his home in Woodstock, N.Y., on May 25 at the age of 95. Born in Harlem in 1930 to parents from the Virgin Islands, he achieved fame after World War II only to crash and burn in the 1950s from a heroin addiction that violated his parole after criminal activity. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display("div-gpt-300x250_3"); //googletag.pubads().refresh([gptAdSlot["div-gpt-300x250_3"]]) }); Rollins was part of the movement away from pre-World War II jazz to the improvisational style more common today, although he never lost touch with those early jazz roots.
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