Newk's Time: Sonny Rollins at 95

By Nate Chinen,

Josh Jackson

Published September 2, 2025 at 6:56 AM EDT

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Sonny Rollins is turning 95: a great excuse to toast one of our finest living jazz artists. So in this special episode of The Late Set, Josh Jackson and Nate Chinen are joined by WRTI on-air hosts to share favorite recordings, and a few recollections that illustrate his greatness.

Sonny Rollins is turning 95: a great excuse to toast one of our finest living jazz artists (not that we ever need an excuse). So in this special episode of The Late Set, Josh Jackson and Nate Chinen are joined by a handful of WRTI’s on-air hosts — Julian Booker, Bob Craig, J. Michael Harrison and Nicole Sweeney — to share favorite recordings by the Saxophone Colossus, as well as a few recollections that illustrate his greatness. Happy birthday, Sonny!

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The Late Set Sonny Rollins

Nate Chinen

Nate Chinen has been writing about music for more than 25 years. He spent a dozen of them working as a critic for The New York Times, and helmed a long-running column for JazzTimes. As Editorial Director at WRTI, he oversees a range of classical and jazz coverage, and contributes regularly to NPR.

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Josh Jackson

Josh Jackson is the associate general manager for programming and content at WRTI.

See stories by Josh Jackson