Sonny Rollins, an American saxophonist, has died at the age of 95.

Sonny Rollins (born Walter Theodore Rollins), an American saxophonist and one of the most influential jazz musicians in the world, has died at the age of 95. The tragic news was reported on May 25 on the musician's official website.

"It is with deep sorrow and boundless love that we announce the death of Sonny Rollins. He died this afternoon at his home in Woodstock, New York, at the age of 95," the statement said.

Sonny Rollins was born on September 7, 1930 in New York City and grew up in Harlem, where he became interested in jazz at an early age, inspired by Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Coleman Hawkins. Starting with the alto saxophone, he soon switched to the tenor and became one of the key figures of bebop, being influenced by Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. Already in his youth, he worked with leading jazz musicians, including Miles Davis, Bud Powell and J. J. Johnson.

In the 1950s, Rollins was widely recognized as one of the most innovative tenor saxophonists, having created his own style of thematic improvisation. His key works of this period — Valse Hot, Saint Thomas, Blue 7, Way Out West and The Freedom Suite — consolidated his status as one of the leaders of modern jazz and had a significant impact on the development of the genre. During this period, he was considered one of the brightest and most innovative musicians of his generation.

In the late 1950s, he temporarily interrupted his concert activities, but then returned with the album The Bridge, continuing to actively record and perform. In the following decades, Rollins experimented with ensemble formats and solo playing, periodically taking creative pauses and returning with new projects. His style was characterized by large-scale improvisation and free work with melody.

In the 2000s and 2010s, he continued to release concert and archival recordings of the Road Shows series, as well as rare previously unreleased materials. Rollins received the Grammy Award, the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award, the U.S. Medal of Arts, and other international honors. In 2011, he became a recipient of the Kennedy Center, and was previously awarded the Edward McDowell Medal as the first jazz musician to receive this award. In 2006, he was admitted to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, consolidating his status as one of the key figures in the history of jazz.