Rollins, Sonny

Jazz composer and saxophonist Sonny Rollins was born on September 7, 1930 in New York City. His parents, immigrants from the U.S. Virgin Islands, raised him in Manhattan's central Harlem and Sugar Hill neighborhoods. Rollins received his first alto saxophone at seven years old; and was heavily influenced by saxophonist Charlie Parker by the time he enrolled at Edward W. Stitt Junior High School. Rollins switched to tenor saxophone, and was mentored by pianist Thelonious Monk.

Upon graduating from high school, Rollins made his first recordings with Babs Gonzales, J.J. Johnson, Bud Powell, and Fats Navarro. He went on to record with such jazz legends as Miles Davis, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. In 1954, Rollins' compositions "Oleo," "Airegin," and "Doxy" were featured on Miles Davis'Bags' Groove. He later moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he became immersed in the jazz scene at Hyde Park's Bee Hive club. When Clifford Brown and Max Roach's band visited Chicago, Rollins was invited to join them, returning to New York City in the summer of 1956. After the tragic deaths of Brown and the band's pianist, Rollins left the band to lead his own group, recording the acclaimed albumSaxophone Colossus, which included Rollins' calypso-inspired composition "St. Thomas." In 1957, Rollins pioneered the use of bass and drums, without piano, as accompaniment for saxophone solos, a format later adopted by such band leaders like Lew Tabackin, Branford Marsalis, and Ornette Coleman. In 1958, he recordedFreedom Suite, which received a limited release before being repackaged by Riverside Records.

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