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Remembering tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, a titan of modern jazz

Rollins, who died May 25, had for decades been hailed as the greatest living jazz musician. Kevin Whitehead offers an appreciation, and we listen back to Rollins' 1994 interview with Terry Gross.

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Kevin Whitehead
Kevin Whitehead is the jazz historian for NPR's Fresh Air. He's been a contributor to the show since 1987. In 2021 he received the Jazz Journalists Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in Jazz Journalism. Currently he reviews for The Audio Beat and Point of Departure.
Terry Gross
Fresh Air with Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley is a nationally recognized radio program and podcast, featuring in depth conversations exploring a wide variety of popular culture, news and issues. The show sets the standard for long-form audio interviews. Presenting Fresh Air with its second Peabody Award, Stephen Colbert said, “This NPR staple is where many of us come for some of the most insightful interviews anywhere, a place where artists, musicians, actors, directors, playwrights, authors, poets, showrunners [and] talk show hosts, open up about their work, their process and their life.”