Overview
- Publicist Terri Hinte confirmed on May 26, 2026 that Rollins died at his Woodstock home at age 95 and did not disclose a cause of death.
- Known as the 'Colossus of the Saxophone,' Rollins rose to prominence in the 1950s and recorded landmark albums while working with figures such as Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis.
- In 1959 Rollins spent long, intensive practice sessions on the Williamsburg Bridge that inspired the album The Bridge and became a central myth of his artistic reinvention.
- He reduced public appearances in later years and stopped performing live a little more than a decade ago, a retreat that followed long stretches of touring and recording.
- Rollins’s recordings are preserved in the Library of Congress and his death is likely to prompt institutional tributes and renewed momentum for the Sonny Rollins Bridge Project to rename the span.