1 of 3 | 2011 Kennedy Center Honoree jazz musician Sonny Rollins salutes photographers on the red carpet as he arrives at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for a gala evening in Washington. Rollins died Sunday at the age of 95. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo
Jazz great Sonny Rollins has died at the age of 95.
“It is with deep sorrow and profound love that we announce the passing of Sonny Rollins,” his X feed said Sunday. “The Saxophone Colossus died this afternoon at his home in Woodstock, NY at the age of 95.”
The cause of his death has not yet been disclosed.
No public memorial is planned at this time.
The Harlem native and Grammy winner known for his virtuoso playing of the tenor saxophone collaborated with Thelonious Monk, Babs Gonzales, J.J. Johnson, Bud Powell and Miles Davis — all before he was 20 years old.
In 2011, the artist was a Kennedy Center Honoree. The same year, he was presented with the National Medal of Arts by U.S. President Barack Obama.
“I think when the creative person ends, he continues in the next existence. I’m a person who believes this life isn’t the be-all and end-all of everything. A spiritual person doesn’t feel like that,” Rollins was quoted in his death announcement as saying in 2009.
Notable deaths of 2026
NASCAR’s Kyle Busch (R) and his wife Samantha Busch arrive on the red carpet for the CMA Awards in Nashville on November 19, 2025. Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, died at the age of 41 following a breif illness on May 21. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
