Rollins' output was prolific, but his unique musicianship and contribution to the jazz vocabulary were often overshadowed by his eccentric tendencies and the mystique that surrounded him. Long before the styles were popular, Rollins sported a “Mohawk
” haircut and then a shaved head, and a legend grew up around his penchant for practicing his instrument late at night on the catwalk of the Williamsburg Bridge over New York's East River.
In later years, Rollins worked with younger musicians,...