Goodbye to Sonny Rollins, the “Colussus” of jazz

Sonny Rollins, one of the last saxophonists of the so-called “golden era” of jazz, has died: he was 95 years old. Considered a central figure in the history of modern jazz and nicknamed “Saxophone Colossus” from the title of one of his most famous albums.
Born in New York in 1930, Rollins was one of the key figures of post-war jazz, a contemporary of figures such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, with whom he collaborated in the early years of his career.

Among his most famous compositions are standards such as “St. Thomas”, “Oleo”, “Doxy” and “Airegin”, while his fundamental albums include “Saxophone Colossus” from 1956, “Tenor Madness” – which contains the famous comparison with Coltrane -, “Way Out West” and “The Bridge”, his comeback album after one of his periods of voluntary retirement from the scene.

Outside of jazz, one of his best-known appearances is on the Rolling Stones’ “Waiting on a Friend,” for which he recorded one of the song’s most famous solos on the 1981 album “Tattoo You.”

He had retired from public performances during the 1910s due to respiratory problems linked to pulmonary fibrosis.