Sonny Rollins, one of jazz's greatest living legends, has never appeared in Hungary before tonight. Theodore Walter Rollins was born in the Harlem district of New York in 1930. Sonny's most significant early influence was Coleman Hawkins, but he later became enchanted by bebop. The young Rollins was taken under the wing of mentor Thelonious Monk, with whom he made several recordings. By the early 1950s, he was working with Miles Davis, before joining Max Roach and Clifford Brown's famous band in 1956 and later founding his own piano-less trio. Even before he reached the age of 30, Rollins was inundated with awards and critical acclaim. His stock rose further with the release of Tenor Madness with John Coltrane, Saxophone Colossus recorded with Tommy Flanagan, and the success of Way Out West featuring Ray Brown and Shelly Manne, as well as his collaborations with the Modern Jazz Quartet. Rollins spent the late ‘50s and ‘60s away from music, immersing himself in yoga and Zen, working with Don Cherry, Paul Bley and his mentor Coleman Hawkins on his return. In the ‘70s, he took time to explore fusion, before touring with a new-found energy that still serves him today, as well as recording with Tommy Flanagan, Jack DeJohnette, Stanley Clarke, Tony Williams and many others. Strangely, he had to wait until 2001 for his first Grammy Award, but the second followed not long after in 2005. His tracks Oleo, Airegin and St. Thomas are considered among the evergreen classics of jazz. In March of this year, Rollins received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama. Presented by: Palace of Arts