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Zoot Sims

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Zoot Sims, born John Haley Sims in 1925 in Inglewood, California, was an American jazz saxophonist. He played mainly tenor saxophone, and later alto and soprano as well. His parents were vaudeville performers. He began on tenor at thirteen and took Lester Young, Ben Webster and Don Byas as his models. He got his nickname as a boy of fifteen in Kenny Baker's band, where the word Zoot was on the music stand he sat behind. He then played in the big bands of, among others, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton and Buddy Rich.

Music and breakthrough

He became known as one of the Four Brothers, the saxophone quartet in Woody Herman's big band. From 1954 to 1956 he toured with the sextet of his friend Gerry Mulligan, and in the early 1960s with Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band. With Al Cohn he led a group of his own for years. Albums from his long career include Zoot! (1956), Al and Zoot (1957), Jazz Mission to Moscow (1962), and from 1975 records for Pablo Records, such as Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers and Basie & Zoot (1976). He also played a thirty-second solo on Phoebe Snow's Poetry Man (1974) and on Laura Nyro's Lonely Women. He died in New York in 1985.

Influence

Sims played with a loose, swinging tone, which combined the relaxed sound of Lester Young with the improvisational power of Charlie Parker. In his solos he stayed close to the melody, so that it remained recognisable. Colleagues regarded him as one of the strongest swingers. He showed that the soft, singing tenor tone of the swing era also had a place in modern jazz.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Phoebe Snow's Poetry Man and notice Zoot Sims's short saxophone solo. Notice how a few notes are enough for a loose, singing phrase.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: Artists