Zoot Sims was part of the west coast jazz movement and maybe why many jazz fans have not paid enough attention to him. This album. Zoot Sims Baden-Baden was recorded live on June 23, 1958 as the cover states and as mentioned below, is part of the “Lost Tapes” recording offered by a new label named Arthaus Musik. All these recordings are very memorable, very rare and most importantly available at great prices, so take advantage immediately! Zoot Sims was one of the best jazz saxophonist players ever and this album makes it very clear, enjoy!
About the album:
In 1958 Sims played with Benny Goodman at Expo ‘58 in Brussels, where he met the Viennese-born Hans Koller, then Europe’s coolest tenor sax. Two years earlier Sims had made a Blue Note recording with the German pianist Jutta Hipp and he was keen to meet other European jazz musicians. So Jo Berendt, head of the jazz department at the then SWF, invited the two to a studio concert, supplementing the horn section with Adi Feuerstein and Gerd Husemann (fl, ts), Willie Dennis (tb) and Helmut Brandt (bs).; The ensemble also featured Hans Hammerschmid on piano, Peter Trunk on bass….Read More
Biography of Zoot Sims:
John Haley “Zoot” Sims (saxophonist) was born on October 29, 1925 in Inglewood, California and passed away on March 23, 1985 in New York City at the age of 59.
Zoot grew up in California as the youngest child in a family of vaudeville performers. Before long, Sims took up the only instrument left in the house, a curved clarinet. His interest in jazz was sparked when he explored his older brother’s record collection, which included recordings featuring Ben Webster and Lester Young. The recordings had such an impact that within two years Zoot hit the road, performing with the big bands of Bobby Sherwood and Ken Baker.
Sims’ signature sound formed in the early 1940s, when he surfaced in Los Angeles’ fertile Central Avenue scene. Clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman discovered him and immediately recruited him for his band. In 1947 Sims landed an even higher profile gig when he joined Woody Herman’s famed Second Herd, along with fellow saxophonists Stan Getz, Herbie Steward……Learn more
