Sonny Rollins, the tenor saxophonist who redefined modern jazz and influenced generations of musicians across seven decades, has died at 95. His death marks the end of an era for a genre that lost one of its most inventive and technically commanding voices.

Rollins earned recognition from both fellow musicians and the broader cultural establishment. His peers regarded him as a towering figure in jazz improvisation, while institutions awarded him a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Jazz Hall of Fame. He performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, recorded landmark albums, and maintained creative vitality well into his final years.

Born in New York City in 1930, Rollins came of age during bebop's emergence and became central to hard bop's development. His ability to construct complex melodic lines while maintaining emotional directness set him apart. Albums like "Saxophone Colossus" became touchstones for understanding post-bebop jazz. His composition "St. Thomas" remains a jazz standard, instantly recognizable for its infectious calypso-inflected melody.

Rollins' career spanned multiple decades of stylistic evolution. He collaborated with Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Rollins never calcified into a single approach. He explored free jazz, rhythm and blues influences, and global musical idioms while maintaining his distinctive voice.

His influence extended beyond jazz purists. Rock musicians cited him as foundational. Contemporary jazz musicians continue studying his recorded improvisations as master classes in musical thinking. His technical facility and harmonic imagination inspired saxophonists across multiple genres.

Rollins occasionally stepped away from performing to reflect and retool his approach, including a famous two-year hiatus in the 1950s. These retreats underscored his artistic seriousness and refusal to rest on accomplishment. He returned each time with fresh perspectives, demonstrating that growth remained possible at any career stage.

His death removes one of jazz's last direct connections to the music's foundational figures. The saxoph