Sonny Rollins obituary

One of the great American jazz saxophonists regarded as an improvising genius by fans all over the world

The flyers for his shows often called the saxophonist Sonny Rollins “the greatest living improviser”. On the face of it, that statement appeared to collide with the evidence, because many of the elements of a Rollins gig were repeated from one show to another.

But you had to listen beyond the themes of favourite Rollins vehicles such as St Thomas, Don’t Stop the Carnival and A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square to hear why he was an improvising genius whose work was revered all the way from the 1950s dives of Manhattan’s 52nd Street to the White House.