Concluding the series dedicated to Zoot Sims and his recordings for the Prestige label, only two collaborations remain as a sideman: with bassist Chubby Jackson's band and with a Miles Davis septet that also includes Al Cohn, his "soul mate".
Let's remember why it was important for bandleaders to hire Zoot Sims to accompany them:
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 and Serge Chaloff. Together, the quartet of sax players was known as the Four Brothers, after a Jimmy Giuffre composition written for them, and became famous for their deft unison lines and the novelty of their dark, sweet sound.
After leaving the Herd and turning up in New York, Sims went through a period of freelancing and unsteady work. In 1953 he joined the Stan Kenton band, which provided a regular paycheck. But the band's music — emphasizing tightly-knit group passages that allowed for only short solos — and Kenton's stern, top-down leadership didn't mesh well with the easygoing, yet musically hard-driving Sims. He didn't stay long with the band, quitting on the spot after their bus wrecked along a Pennsylvania highway.
Zoot retreated to California, but he found few performing opportunities and wound up working as a house painter. Baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan rescued Sims from his day job when he invited Zoot to help expand his well-known, pianoless quartet. As trombonist and band member Bob Brookmeyer remembers, Sims and Mulligan were "connected by the bone" as both players and improvisers.
In the mid and late '50s, buoyed by his success with Mulligan, Zoot would release many recordings as a leader — 10 in 1956 alone. Nevertheless, he remained a great collaborator and team player, and he inevitably returned to winning partnerships. In 1957, Zoot hooked up with an old friend, tenorman Al Cohn. Together, they formed perhaps the most successful partnership of Zoot's career, co-leading an ensemble for many years.
Later in his career, Sims continued to evolve as a player. According to saxophonist and composer Bill Holman, Zoot's tone aged and became gruffer, and he expanded his repertoire thanks to the influence of pianist Jimmy Rowles. But he never gave up on what many consider his greatest asset: his incredible sense of swing. "No matter what he played, it was perfectly in time", said saxophonist Harry Allen. "If you were making your own perfect saxophone player up in your head, that's where you'd put the notes. And (Sims) managed to do that without fail".
Chubby Jackson And His All Star Band
Plays
The style of Chubby's big band would be echoed throughout the 50's and 60's in the bands of Woody Herman, Elliot Lawrence, Gene Krupa, Count Basie and Gerry Mulligan. The actual recording, the first big band date recorded by Prestige was done in the old Cinemart studios in New York City. The studio was so small that the trumpet section had to face the wall to make for a better balance. At the time of the session, Georgie Auld owned a bar and jazz club called "Tin Pan Alley" in the basement of a hotel on 49th Street. The club was a favorite oasis for Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan and J.J. Johnson among others and everybody would come by to jam.
At the date Mulligan remarked how loose he felt when working with Zoot. Certainly the loose feeling permeated the entire session as Auld, Jackson and Don Lamond fooled around with one of those fake nose and glasses disguises and Chubby kicked off the time in his stocking feet!
The date was the second recording of J. J. Johnson and Kay Winding in tandem, the first being a Metronome All-Star session in January 1949. The Tiny Kahn charts were a constant topic of conversation and the band which Jackson had led in early 1949 had played most of them, some under different titles, at "Bop City" and "The Royal Roost".
It is interesting to note that on this LP, Chubby Jackson does not do much solo playing. This is unusual but again it emphasizes Jackson's role as an organizer. He had musical talent as well as the ability to get good men into good places. Valuable contributions to the American Art Form and contributions that both listeners and historians alike can be grateful for.
*Ernie Edwards, Jr. (liner notes, February 1969)*
1 - Flying The Coop
(Tiny Kahn)
2 - I May Be Wrong
(Ruskin, Sullivan)
3 - Leavin' Town
(Jarvis, Meissner)
4 - Sax Appeal
(Tiny Kahn)
5 - New York
(Al Cohn)
6 - Why Not
(Tiny Kahn)
7 - Hot Dog
(Zoot Sims)
8 - So What
(Gerry Mulligan)
Chubby Jackson (bass, leader); Howard McGhee, Al Porcino, Don Ferrara (trumpets);
J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding (trombones); Charlie Kennedy (alto sax);
Zoot Sims, George Auld (tenor saxes), Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax);
Tony Aless (piano); Don Lamond (drums).
Recorded at Cinemart Studios, New York City, March 15, 1950
✳✳✳
Miles Davis Septet
Plays The Compositions Of Al Cohn
Since the "records heard 'round the world", "Godchild", "Jeru", "Move", et al, Miles Davis has made many other fine records to enhance his position as top modern trumpeter, but in the main they have been three horn groups (including himself) with an emphasis on solo work. After the original melody, usually stated in tight unison, each hornman played again only when his solo turn came. The soloists had to be good to sustain interest, and they were, but it was felt that Miles needed a change of pace for his next recording date; compositions and arrangements which would suit him and result in a happy combination of arranged music and solo work.
The man who achieved this was Al Cohn, the unheralded great of the tenor saxophone, as well as the composer's and arranger's desk. Three of the pieces, "Willie The Wailer", "Floppy" and "For Adults Only" were written for this session. "Tasty Pudding" had been written before but Al arranged it specially for Miles and this date. The Pudding whipped up by Al receives flavoring and icing from Miles and best exemplifies the whole idea behind this type of integrated arrangement.
Thanks to Miles, Al, and Zoot Sims, with help from John Lewis and Sonny Truitt, the "solo" is not neglected and the feeling that they show in their reading of the arrangements (underlined, and punctuated by Kenny Clarke; propelled by Leonard Gaskin and Kenny) makes the "happy combination" possible. *Ira Gitler (liner notes)*
Miles Davis Plays The Compositions Of Al Cohn, from early 1953, was another album unified by idea and intent. The music is intelligent and spry, with sly references to other tunes, one that would lodge itself in Miles' memory; "Willie The Wailer", for example, opens as "Soft Winds", a number popularized by Benny Goodman in 1941, and which in 1959 Miles would morph into "Freddie The Freeloader" for >Kind Of Blue<. The performances are strong, the harmony lines benefitting from a three-horn frontline with Zoot Sims and Cohn the relaxed foils to Miles' brashness. *milesdavis.com*
Side 1
1 - Tasty Pudding
2 - Floppy
Side 2
3 - Willie The Wailer
4 - For Adults Only
(All compositions by Al Cohn)
Miles Davis (trumpet); Sonny Truitt (trombone); Zoot Sims, Al Cohn (tenor saxes);
John Lewis (piano); Leonard Gaskin (bass); Kenny Clarke (drums).
Recorded at Beltone Studios, New York City, February 19, 1953.
