Zoot Sims The Best Of Zoot Sims

Avid Jazz here presents four classic Zoot Sims albums, including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered double CD.
The Four Brothers… Together Again!, From A to Z, Zoot and Whooeeee. Taking their name from their saxophone stylings in the 1940’s as part of the Woody Herman band the Four Brothers consisted at the time of recording Together Again in 1957 of Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Herbie Steward and Serge Chaloff. Take a listen to the album and you will soon witness the Brothers refute the accusation that they all sounded alike…

This is a classic encounter in the Original Jazz Classics series. Pianist Count Basie (in his best-small group outing of the 1970s) and tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims were mutually inspired by each other's presence and, with the tasteful assistance of bassist John Heard and drummer Louie Bellson, they can be heard playing at the peak of their creative powers. Every listener interested in swinging jazz should pick up this disc, if only to hear these hard-charging versions of "I Never Knew," "It's Only a Paper Moon," and "Honeysuckle Rose." A gem, and essential music.

Chuck Wayne's participation in some of the earliest bebop recordings have lead many to conclude that he was purely a bop-style guitar player. Yet on the recordings he made in the mid-1940s, first with the Billy Eckstine Band and later with Dizzy Gillespie, his swing-oriented guitar collides with the "new music" being played by the more modern musicians on the set. It was with George Shearing that Wayne had his greatest success, making a major contribution to the Shearing sound. This particular album reissues two sets cut by Wayne during the 1950s…

Zoot Sims, known throughout his career as a hard-swinging tenor-saxophonist, started doubling successfully on soprano in 1973 and managed to become one of the best by simply playing in his own musical personality. This particular LP was his only full-length set on soprano but it is a rewarding one. Assisted by pianist Ray Bryant, bassist George Mraz and drummer Grady Tate, Sims is in top form on such songs as "Someday Sweetheart," "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," "Ghost of a Chance" and two of his originals. A delightful set of swinging jazz, it's a surprise success.

Chet Baker - Plays The Best Of Lerner & Loewe (1959) {OJC Remasters Complete Series rel 2013, item 27of33}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 277 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 145 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1959, 2013 Riverside / Concord | 60th Anniversary of Riverside Records | 0888072345997
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

Concord Music Group will release five new titles in its Original Jazz Classics Remasters series. Enhanced by 24-bit remastering by Joe Tarantino, several bonus tracks on nearly each disc (some previously unreleased) and new liner notes providing historical context to the original material, the series celebrates the 60th anniversary of Riverside Records, the prolific New York-based label that showcased some of the most influential jazz artists and recordings of the 1950s and '60s.

First-ever compilation of his Atlantic Records recordings and featuring previously unissued live take on “Darn That Dream.”

The Manhattan Transfer first came to the general public's attention as a retro act, a nostalgic throwback in a era consumed with nostalgia – the early/mid-'70s – and their debut Atlantic album, as well as their 1975 summer replacement TV series, catered unashamedly to that market. As a result, this record seemed old when it came out, and it still sounds more than a little sappy, especially when one considers the astonishing growth of the Transfer since…

Zoot Sims - Zoot Sims And The Gershwin Brothers (1975) {OJC Remasters Complete Series rel 2013, item 33of33}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 357 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 139 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 180 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1975, 2013 Pablo / Concord | 40th Anniversary of Pablo Records | 0888072346239
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Saxophone

Concord Music Group will release five new titles in its Original Jazz Classics Remasters series on September 17, 2013. Enhanced by 24-bit remastering by Joe Tarantino, bonus tracks (some previously unreleased), and new liner notes to provide historical context to the originally released material, the series celebrates the 40th anniversary of Pablo Records, the prolific Beverly Hills-based label that showcased some of the most influential jazz artists and recordings of the 1970s and '80s.

Sonny Stitt & Zoot Sims - Inter-Action (1965) {2011 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9745}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 217 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 83 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 12 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1965, 2011 Cadet / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9745
Jazz / Bop / Saxophone

Inter-Action is an album by saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Zoot Sims recorded in Chicago in 1965 and released on the Cadet label. The Sims-Stitt collaboration is of particular interest as are Sims's rare alto solos on his own date. Worth searching for. Just what you'd expect with this front-line pair. Nice session.