# RIP Sonny Rollins **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [May 26, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405 "2026-05-26T12:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/1 "2026-05-26T12:37:44Z")
[NYT article](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/25/arts/music/sonny-rollins-dead.html). Jazz sax legend Sonny Rollins has died at age 95. He stopped doing concerts in 2012 and quit playing altogether in 2014. Not a bad run. He really came into his own in the bop era, which in my opinion was the greatest jazz innovation period and that produced the most amazing artists. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/2 "2026-05-26T12:44:33Z")
Another legend gone. Huge loss ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/3 "2026-05-26T15:32:34Z")
The first SR tune I became aware of thanks to the Smithsonian collection. Still one of my favorites. RIP. [Sonny Rollins - Blue 7 (Official Audio)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QtwXvu1uGA) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/4 "2026-05-26T15:36:37Z")
I think I mentioned in another thread some time ago that I saw him play with Wynton Marsalis on the Mall in Washington DC during the Clinton inaugural in 1993. They did a second line tribute to Dizzy Gillespie, who had just passed. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/5 "2026-05-26T21:47:56Z")
One of the few (if any) jazzers to cover I’m An Old Cowhand and There’s No Business Like Show Business. I saw him perform at Montreux in 1974 with Rufus Harley on bagpipes. That was different. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/6 "2026-05-26T22:26:50Z")
A brilliant musician, and a sad loss. There can’t be many more of the original jazz stars left. Saxophone Colossus is still a great album. The man played with Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/7 "2026-05-27T21:09:03Z")
An interesting tale. > **[“He May Be the Greatest Virtuoso That Jazz Has Ever Produced”](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/05/sonny-rollins-obituary/687328/?gift=FNE9XeXXKzu6Z_8urufLLtoEGDd0ilg1KcFT8GsOSeY&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share)** > > Sonny Rollins, who died this week, was the embodiment of the genre itself. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/8 "2026-05-27T21:24:53Z")
There is a petition to rename the Williamsburg bridge after sonny. It’s been tried before without success. Maybe this time… ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/9 "2026-05-29T07:56:50Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > The man played with Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis. And Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie, and John Coltrane, and… the list goes on and on. Along with Stan Getz, Rollins was my favourite jazz saxophonist. Warm, muscular but sensual tone, irresistible sense of swing, very creative use of the acoustic possibilities of the saxophone, solos packed with ideas, and lots of humour, which is a rare thing. He was absolutely amazing. His version of _Poor Butterfly_, another example of his unusual choice of material, is in my top three jazz recordings of all time. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-sonny-rollins/1030405/10 "2026-05-29T11:35:59Z")
Oh, no! Probably my favorite sax player. Legendary doesn’t even begin to describe him. About 25 years ago, I was watching Ken Burns’ jazz documentary with my uncle. There was a montage with Monk, Coltrane, Rollins, and a few others. My uncle commented, “Sonny’s the only one of those guys that is still with us.” And he went on to live (and play) another quarter-century!