Sonny @ 80....almost

Is this the look of an 80-year old?

Testament to the endduring power of jazz' "Saxophone Colossus" Theodore Walter 'Sonny' Rollins, who turns 80 on September 7, 1930.

To great acclaim and adoration, but with little fanfare of his own, Sonny Rollins has built a jazz iconography as instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and thought-leader over a career that spans 7 decades.

Born in New York City (to parents who had emigrated from the Us Virgin islands),he grew up in Harlem not far from the Savoy Ballroom, the Apollo Theatre, and the doorstep of his idol, Coleman Hawkins. After early discovery of Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong, he started out on alto saxophone, inspired by Louis Jordan. At the age of sixteen, he switched to tenor, trying to emulate Hawkins. He also fell under the spell of the musical revolution that surrounded him, Bebop.