The Montreal Jazz Festival bestowed awards on three of the biggest names in jazz over the weekend, including Sonny Rollins, who won the Miles Davis Award.
The tenor saxophonist, a legend on the jazz scene for five decades, was presented with the award Sunday ahead of his concert at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier.
Nicknamed the “Saxophone Colossus," he grew up in Harlem and began playing in the bebop style, but has evolved over the years, exploring calypso, funk, R&B and pop. He played frequently with trumpeter and bandleader Miles Davis in the 1950s.
The Miles Davis Award has previously gone to artists such as Ornette Coleman, McCoy Tyner and Mike Stern. It is meant to honor an international artist for the entire body of his or her work.
