The legendary tenor saxophonist Walter Theodore Rollins, better known as Sonny Rollins, passed away on Monday at his home in Woodstock, New York, as reported in Brooklyn Vegan. He was 95 at the time of his passing, and the cause of death isn’t currently public.

The jazz icon was born on September 7, 1930. He played various instruments growing up, including the piano and alto saxophone, not picking up his signature instrument, the tenor saxophone, until he was 16 years old. One of his music idols was Coleman Hawkins, one of the first prominent tenor saxophonists, and Rollins’ sound stood out in the 40s by drawing inspiration from Hawkins’s old-school jazz sound. At 18, he was already collaborating with notable names in the genre, such as Babs Gonzalez.

In general, Rollins was known as an improviser, experimenting with and creating new sounds in every work and performance. Throughout his music career, he dipped his toes into all sorts of jazz subgenres: avant-garde, jazz-rock, bebop and more. He made over 60 albums and composed several classics such as “Airegin” and “Doxy.”

The legend’s final performance was in 2012, and his pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis made him give up the instrument altogether a couple of years later. He’s received a number of accolades over his decades of artistry, including the 2011 Kennedy Center Honor, the National Medal of Arts, which former president Barack Obama awarded him in 2011 and several Grammys.