File:Sonny_Rollins_1974_press_photo.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Sonny Rollins
Sign in to saveAlso known as Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins, Walter Theodore Rollins, Newk
American jazz saxophonist and composer (born 1930)
OverviewAI-generated
Sonny Rollins, born Walter Theodore Rollins in Harlem, New York City, is an American composer, bandleader, conductor, and saxophonist. He performs in the jazz and post-bop genres, playing the tenor and soprano saxophone. His musical career began in 1947, and he has recorded for labels including Blue Note, Contemporary Records, and Prestige. Rollins has been influenced by musicians such as Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, and Thelonious Monk.
He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Rollins has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honors, Guggenheim Fellowship, and National Medal of Arts. His archives are held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Among his published works are *Melodic improvisation in American jazz* and *Notebooks of Sonny Rollins*.
Synthesized by Vinony from 45 facts across 9 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, OpenAlex, Crossref, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Died
- 2026-00-00
- Works
- 19
Top works
- Melodic improvisation in American jazz
- Notebooks of Sonny Rollins
- Sonny Rollins - Jazz Masters Series
- Sonny Rollins Omnibook for C Instruments
- Sonny Rollins Omnibook for B-Flat Instruments
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · New York City, New York, USA
Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (September 7, 1930 - May 25, 2026) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a leader. A number of his compositions, including "St. Thomas", "Oleo", "Doxy", "Pent-Up House", and "Airegin", have become jazz standards.…
Known for
- Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes — Self2023
- Hargrove — Self2022
- Jazz Club 22022
- It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story — Self2018
- Chasing Trane — Self - Musician2017
- Brownie Speaks — Self2014
- Sonny Rollins: Beyond the Notes — Self2012
- Sonny Rollins '74: Rescued! — Self2010
- The Jazz Baroness — Self2009
- Jazz Icons: Sonny Rollins Live in '65 & '68 — Self2008
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1930
- Active to
- 2026
Discography
Member of
- The Clifford Brown–Max Roach Quintet1955–?
- Miles Davis Sextet
- Thelonious Monk Quartet
- Bud Powell's Modernists
- Miles Davis All Stars
- Babs Gonzales and His Orchestra
- The J.J. Johnson Quintet
- Kenny Dorham Quintet
- Miles Davis and His Band
- The Riverside Jazz Stars
- Max Roach Quintet
- Sonny Rollins Quintet
- Sonny Rollins Trio
- Sonny Rollins Quartet
- Sonny Rollins Plus Four
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 753,992
- Total plays
- 7,829,952
Tags
Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (September 7, 1930 – May 25, 2026) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded more than sixty albums as a leader. His 1956 album Saxophone Colossus was selected for preservation by the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2016. A number of his compositions, including "St. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Sonny+Rollins
Academic profile · OpenAlex
- Works
- 32
- Cited by
- 13
Research areas
Most cited works
- Relaxin' : the Miles Davis Quintet1985 · 13 cit
- Give and take1997 · 0 cit
- Joe Pass Quartet live at Yoshi's1994 · 0 cit
- ビター・スウィート = Bitter sweet1997 · 0 cit
- Swiss nights, vol. 1〜3 = スイス・ナイツvol.1〜3+61992 · 0 cit
via OpenAlex · CC0
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger
· 2016 · cited 11,699x
- GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
· 2017 · cited 8,258x
- Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
· 2016 · cited 5,844x
- Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger<sup>*</sup>
· 2017 · cited 3,668x
- THE LARGE AREA TELESCOPE ON THE<i>FERMI GAMMA-RAY SPACE TELESCOPE</i>MISSION
· 2009 · cited 3,472x
via Crossref · CC0
Key facts
- Born
- Walter Theodore Rollins , ( 1930-09-07 ) September 7, 1930, Harlem , New York City , U.S.
- Died
- May 25, 2026 (2026-05-25) (aged 95), Woodstock, New York , U.S.
- Genres
- Jazz hard bop
- Occupations
- Musician composer bandleader
- Instruments
- Alto saxophone tenor saxophone soprano saxophone
- Years active
- 1947–2014
- Labels
- Prestige Blue Note Contemporary RCA Victor Impulse! Milestone Doxy Okeh EmArcy
- Spouse
- Dawn Finney ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1957 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1957 ) Lucille Pearson ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1965 ; died 2004 )
- Website
- sonnyrollins .com
via Wikipedia infobox
Key dates
- Died
- 2026
via Wikidata · CC0
~32 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (September 7, 1930 – May 25, 2026) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians.
In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded more than 60 albums as a leader. His 1956 album Saxophone Colossus was selected for preservation by the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress in 2016. A number of his compositions, including "St. Thomas", "Oleo", "Doxy", and "Airegin", have become jazz standards. Rollins was often called "the greatest living improviser". He was the last survivor of the 57 jazz musicians depicted in the 1958 photograph A Great Day in Harlem.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Sonny Rollins” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.