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Tutored by Thelonious Monk, the Harlem native came of age with bebop and created a succession of improvisational masterpieces that made him one of history’s most influential musicians.Sonny Rollins, the powerful and personal jazz tenor saxophonist whose improvisational sessions became legend and his compositions “St. Thomas,” “Oleo,” “Doxy,” “Rent-Up House” and “Airegin” standards, died Monday. He was 95. Rollins died at his home in Woodstock, New York, his family announced. Widely recognized as one of the most important and influential musicians of all time, Rollins recorded 60-plus albums during his seven-decade career. Along the way, he received a a...

Herbie Hancock wrote of Shorter that he could ‘synthesize all the history of jazz into a very special, very alive, musical expression.’Wayne Shorter, the enigmatic jazz saxophonist and composer known as one of the inventors of jazz-rock, or fusion, has died in hospital in Los Angeles, at the age of 89. His publicist confirmed his death to the New York Times. Shorter is survived by his third wife, Carolina Dos Santos, and daughter, Miyako. Like John Coltrane before him, Shorter was a key figure in popularizing the soprano saxophone, an instrument equally suited to carrying a melody as it is...

In Take Five, hear one sterling track for each decade of Sonny’s monumental career. What that means, of course, is that we’re spotlighting a total of seven tracks, spanning 55 years. They range from broadly celebrated to borderline obscure, but without any of the most obvious picks. (You already know where to find those.) And along with the music, enjoy a handful of photographs of recent-vintage Rollins by WBGO’s own Jonathan Chimene. Happy 90th birthday, Sonny! Here’s to all the beauty you’ve given us, and the sterling example you continue to set. “Bird Medley” (1956) An embarrassment of riches: that’s...