05/26/2026
This Friday and Saturday, May 29th and 30th, WKCR will air 48 hours of Sonny Rollins to honor the life and work of the renowned saxophonist, who passed away this Monday, May 15th, at the age of 95.
Hailing from Sugar Hill, Harlem, Rollins was immersed in the budding scene of hard bop right out of high school, collaborating with J.J. Johnson, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Clifford Brown, and Miles Davis. In his autobiography, Davis writes, “People loved Sonny Rollins up in Harlem and everywhere else. He was a legend, almost a god, to a lot of the younger musicians. Some thought he was playing the saxophone on the level of Bird. I know one thing–he was close. He was an aggressive, innovative player who always had fresh musical ideas. I loved him back then as a player, and he could also write his ass off…”
Over his many years and broad influence, Rollins became a defining voice in his craft through landmark recordings such as Saxophone Colossus (1956), Way Out West (1957), and The Bridge (1962). Past his legendary improvisation, or lasting compositions such as “Oleo,” “St. Thomas”, and “Tenor Madness”, his dedication to this music manifested in pauses from the scene. Most famously, his two-year hiatus, where he took to practicing on the Williamsburg Bridge so as not to disturb his neighbors.
We invite you all to join us in celebrating the enduring legacy of Sonny Rollins through 48 hours of programming from one of the most transformative voices in the tradition of jazz.
Listeners can tune in at 89.9 FM or at wkcr.org.
