Born Walter Theodore Rollins in New York in 1930 and nicknamed Sonny by his grandmother, Rollins was a gifted player and was mentored by pianist Thelonious Monk.
He went on to play with many leading jazz artists including Art Blakey, Bud Powell and Miles Davis.
In 1956, Rollins released his sixth and one of his best-known albums Saxophone Colossus.
As his fame rose through the early 1960, Rollins took to practising for hours every day on New York’s Williamsburg Bridge.
It led to one of his most famous albums, 1962’s The Bridge, and has sparked calls for the bridge to be renamed in his honour.
Rollins was at his home in New York, six blocks from the World Trade Centre, when the twin towers were attacked by terrorists on 11 September 2001.
He and his wife fled for upstate New York, with Rollins carrying only his saxophone. He later told the Guardian:, external “I lost many prized possessions in 9/11 and learned a lesson – possessions are not where it’s at.”
In 2010, Rollins received the National Medal of the Arts from US president Barack Obama, who said the jazz musician had inspired him to “take risks that I might not otherwise have taken”.
Known for long solos, Rollins was considered among the best improvisers and told PBS he would go on stage with his mind blank and no plan beyond an awareness of the structure of the piece.
“Improvising on it, that I leave completely to the forces,” he said. “Sometimes I’m surprised by what comes out.”