Bio

Sonny Rollins was born in 1930 in Manhattan. He picked up his first alto saxophone when he was 8 years old, and later transitioned to tenor sax. While still in high school he was in a band composed of many musicians who would also go on to be famous including Jackie McLean and Kenny Drew. He is one of the most distinctive and influential tenor saxophonists in history. His style is rooted in the hard bop/ bebop tradition, but he underwent many changes and overhauls to his style throughout his career. Sonny Rollins appeared on hundreds of albums over his career, but a small shortlist of some of his best known works are, ‘The Bridge’, ‘Saxophone Colossus’, ‘A Night at the Village Vanguard’, and ‘ Freedom Suite’. Throughout his career Sonny Rollins associated with an uncountable number of jazz giants, including Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Jim Hall, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pederson, and Wilbur Ware.