Zoot+sims

Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims is an album by German jazz pianist Jutta Hipp recorded in 1956 which was released on the Blue Note label as BLP 1530.

It is strange that this album was not released until the CD came out in 1990, for tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims and pianist Jimmy Rowles' tribute to Billie Holiday is melodic, tasteful, and largely memorable. Together with bassist George Mraz and drummer Jackie Williams back in 1978, they perform 11 songs associated with Holiday, including quite a few that would have been lost in obscurity if Lady Day had not uplifted them with her recordings. Highlights include "Easy Living," "Some Other Spring," "I Cried for You," "Body and Soul," and "You're My Thrill." A lyrical and heartfelt tribute.

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow and Thom Jurek awarded the albums 4½ stars stating "as a whole, this recording is so wonderfully executed, one has to wonder why Hipp simply dropped out of the jazz world".

Annie is in fine fettle throughout, interpreting the lyrics in her highly individual manner, but always respecting the songwriter's intention.

A jazz musician is a juggler who uses harmonies instead of oranges, says pianist Benny Green. Seventeen of his most prominent colleagues illustrate this bon mot on the ten jam-packed CDs of the Ultimate Jazz Piano Collection. From swing experts such as Duke Ellington, in a rare and out-of-print trio recording, to bebop heroes such as Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans, the father of the modern jazz piano, these masters of their craft show why the 88 piano keys still mean the world in jazz. The stylistic spectrum is as broad as it is stringent: from the oldest recordings in this collection, the album Bud Powell's Moods, to Bill Evans's Portrait in Jazz from 1960, these 145 pieces contain a veritable history of piano jazz. But above all, it is beautiful music - the greatest melodies from In a Sentimental Mood to Round About Midnight to Misty and Blue In Green, the most moving rhythms and the most important jazz interpreters on the piano on this unique 10 CD box set.

This release offers a unique glimpse of a young Chet Baker in a quintet setting, complemented by a nine-piece string section. Utilizing the uniquely modern arrangements of Johnny Mandel, Marty Paich, Jack Montrose, and Shorty Rogers, this interaction of "West Coast cool" with primordial elevator music escapes many – if not indeed all – of the potential sonic pitfalls such a marriage might suggest. In the truest sense of the word augmentation, the string arrangements provide the desired opulence sans the heavy-handed or syrupy residual effects. Perhaps most inspiring about this outing is the success with which Baker and crew are able to thrive in this environment, providing subtle insight into the quintet's ability to simultaneously adapt and explore. Chet Baker and Strings was recorded over three days in late 1953 and early 1954. Joining Baker (trumpet) on these sessions are Jack "Zoot" Sims (tenor sax), Jack Montrose (tenor sax), Russ Freeman (piano), Joe Mondragon (bass), Shelly Manne (drums), and Clifford "Bud" Shank (alto sax), who steps in for Sims on the 1954 date. "Love Walked In" incorporates a trademark volley of interaction between Baker and Sims. "Love" contains what is arguably the most successful implementation of the string section, as well as some stellar soloing by Freeman. In fact, his contributions to this particular recording rank among his finest with Baker and company. The same enthusiasm can likewise be applied to "A Little Duet for Zoot and Chet." Not only are Sims and Baker in top flight, but the string arrangement swings irresistibly as well. The easygoing and otherwise winding strings support the cool bop like a kite in a March breeze – light, airy, and conspicuous only in altitude. The 1998 CD reissue also includes three alternate performances, "You Don't Know What Love Is," "You Better Go Now," and an incendiary "A Little Duet for Zoot and Chet," all of which make their debut on this release.

Original albums from one of the most important independent jazz labels of the 1950s.
Including milestones by Miles Davis, John Coltrane, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Sonny Rollins, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Eric Dolphy, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Thelonious Monk, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd and also swing greats like Coleman Hawkins and Arnett Cobb. This 10 CD wallet box follows the successful "Blue Notes" series and presents "Prestigious Hits": original albums and stars playing the best of modern jazz from the 1950s. Bob Weinstock, who started his own label in 1949, is hardly a household name today except among specialists, but his productions and artists are all the more so.

Booker Ervin's debut as a leader teamed the intense tenor saxophonist with fellow tenor Zoot Sims (one will have little difficulty telling the cool-toned Zoot apart from Booker), trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist George Tucker and drummer Dannie Richmond. Ervin (who has his ballad "Largo" as a feature) performs five originals and "Poor Butterfly"; best are the slow blues "The Blue Book" and the rapid blues "The Book Cooks".