Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter (Sonny) Rollins (born
1930 in
New York City) is an
American jazz tenor
saxophonist. He started as a
pianist, then switched to alto saxophone, finally switching to tenor in
1946. He was first recorded in
1949 with Babs Gonzalez; in the same year he recorded with
J. J. Johnson and
Bud Powell. He recorded with
Miles Davis in
1951 and
Thelonious Monk in
1953. He joined the
Clifford Brown -
Max Roach quintet in
1955, and after Brown's death in
1957 worked as a leader.
He was considered the leading tenor player of the 1950s and remains a major figure to this day.