Rollins, Sonny (1930-…), an American tenor saxophone player, ranks among the most creative soloists in jazz history. He is known for his muscular sound and for his skill at improvising solos on jazz harmonies. Rollins has also composed several popular jazz numbers, including “St. Thomas,” “Don’t Stop the Carnival,” “Airegin,” “Valse Hot,” “Blue 7,” “Doxy,” and “Oleo.” The first two compositions reflect Rollins’s ongoing interest in Caribbean music. “Valse Hot” introduced the now common practice in jazz of improvising in waltz time. Rollins also composed the music for the film Alfie (1966).
Theodore Walter Rollins was born in New York City on Sept. 7, 1930. He made his first recordings at the age of 18 with singer Babs Gonzales, trombonist J. J. Johnson, and pianist Pud Powell. In 1949, he made live appearances with Powell, drummer Art Blakey and pianist Thelonious Monk. He made his first recordings under his own name in 1951 and recorded with Monk and trumpeter Miles Davis in the early and mid-1950’s. Some of Rollins’s best early work came from 1955 to 1957 as a member of a quintet led by trumpeter Clifford Brown and drummer Max Roach.
Rollins experimented with free jazz during the early 1960’s with trumpeter Don Cherry, but he soon returned to his earlier style. Rollins withdrew from music from 1968 to 1971, as he had on earlier occasions, this time to study in Japan and India. Since then, he has performed regularly, sometimes leading a quartet and also touring with a group of all-star jazz musicians. Rollins became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2011.
