Zoot Sims

Dave McKenna is one of the great underrated pianists in jazz, and his pairing with Zoot is inspired. McKenna's big, two-handed approach fills out the quartet sound in a way that many pianists cannot manage, and his comping has a rolling, orchestral quality that gives Sims a rich harmonic carpet to work over. George Tucker's bass is deep and propulsive, and Dannie Richmond (best known for his work with Charles Mingus) proves he can swing in a straight-ahead context with the same intensity he brought to Mingus's more adventurous music.

The repertoire is well-chosen standards, played at tempos that allow everyone room to stretch. Zoot's solo on the title track is a masterclass in melodic development: he starts simple, builds logically, and reaches a climax that feels earned rather than forced. There is a bluesy undercurrent to the whole session that justifies the album title.

Five stars. One of the finest quartet records of 1960, and a strong contender for the best thing Zoot ever recorded in a small-group setting.

A pianoless date with two of the finest jazz guitarists of the era. Jimmy Raney and Jim Hall approach the instrument from different angles: Raney is the bop-rooted player with a quick, fluid single-note style, while Hall is more harmonically adventurous and texturally varied. Together they create a shifting, translucent accompaniment for Zoot that has a character quite unlike the usual piano-bass-drums trio.

Steve Swallow's bass anchors the group with quiet authority, and Osie Johnson keeps time with the kind of relaxed precision that this delicate instrumentation demands. The absence of a piano opens up the harmonic space in interesting ways, giving Zoot room to explore chord substitutions and melodic ideas that might feel crowded in a more conventional setting.

Four stars. The unusual instrumentation makes this a distinctive entry in the Sims catalog, and the interplay between the three front-line voices is consistently absorbing. It does not quite reach the heights of Down Home or Al and Zoot, but it offers something different and valuable.

The Impulse! with-strings record, arranged by Gary McFarland and recorded in London. McFarland was one of the most inventive arrangers of the sixties, and his settings for Zoot avoid the saccharine quality that plagues most saxophone-with-strings albums. The orchestrations are angular and surprising, with unusual voicings in the French horns and a harp that adds glinting color rather than schmaltz.

Zoot sings on a couple of tracks, and his voice has the same unaffected, slightly grainy quality as his tenor playing. The singing is not the point of the record, but it adds variety and reveals the same melodic instinct that drives his saxophone solos. The London musicians play McFarland's charts with precision and feeling.

Four stars. Not the raw blowing session that Zoot fans typically prefer, but a beautifully crafted orchestral statement that shows a different side of his artistry.

Sixteen years after Al and Zoot, the partnership had only deepened. Jaki Byard is the wild card in this rhythm section: his encyclopedic knowledge of jazz piano styles, from stride to free, means that the comping is never predictable. He can match the two tenors' swing feel effortlessly, but he also drops in harmonic surprises that keep everyone on their toes. Mel Lewis on drums and George Duvivier on bass provide the kind of rock-solid foundation that allows Byard's adventurous comping to work without destabilizing the group.

Zoot plays some soprano saxophone here alongside his tenor, and his soprano tone is characteristically warm and centered, avoiding the nasal quality that some players produce on the instrument. The title track is a highlight: both tenors take extended solos that build with a patience and logic that only mature artists can manage.

Five stars. The best of the Cohn-Sims reunion records, with a rhythm section that pushes the two-tenor format into fresh territory.

Producer Harry Lim assembled an all-star rhythm section for this Famous Door date, and the results are predictably beautiful. Hank Jones is one of the most elegant pianists who ever lived, and his accompaniment has a luminous, singing quality that brings out the best in Zoot's ballad playing. Milt Hinton, appearing here for the second time in Zoot's discography, is once again the perfect anchor.

The split drum chair between Louie Bellson and Grady Tate gives the two sessions slightly different characters: Bellson is more explosive and accented, Tate more laid-back and groove-oriented. Both are perfectly suited to the material. The soprano saxophone tracks are a nice change of pace, though Zoot's tenor remains his primary voice.

Four stars. A consistently enjoyable mainstream session that benefits enormously from the caliber of the rhythm section. The title is accurate: this is the sound of a musician completely at ease with himself and his art.