Zoot Woman

The band's fifth album features 11 tracks. Kicking off with the infectious single 'Solid Gold', followed by the introspective 'Ordinary Face', regret fuelled 'I Said It Again' and 60's soul inspired 'Haunt Me'. Adding to the arsenal of synth-pop, a contribution from Kylie Minogue who features on the epic ballad 'Still Feels Like The First Time'. The resulting sound contains some of the most uplifting pop melodies they've ever delivered, proving them to be genre-defying artists for the 21st century.

Like fellow Aussies the Sherbs, Zoot never escaped teen-star status. But as Zoot Locker proves, they were certainly adapt at churning out clever pop tracks. Because of their time period, Zoot used every trick in the psychedelic book; but most songs maintain the three-minute mark, resulting in shrewd and skewered singles much like the Move delivered. Innocent innocuousness such as "Monty & Me" about walking the dog or "One Times Two Times Three Times Four" seems unfairly buried in the past. Of course, Beatles nods abound, such as the Lennon-isms of "Hey Pinky." With this smoking version of "Eleanor Rigby" the quartet attempted to jettison their early "pink" image, jumping aboard the bizarre "heavy covers" bandwagon with Vanilla Fudge and Rare Earth. The Hollies are another pervasive influence ("Flying" shares rhyme schemes with "Dear Eloise" over a "Helter Skelter" riff) while "Mr Songwriter" echoes the Byrds by way of Dylan. "Freak" foreshadows "Highway Star" and many Sweet moments.

Zoot Sims - New Beat Bossa Nova, Vol 2 (1962) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29227}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 238 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 76 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 80 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1962, 2017 Colpix Records / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29227 / LP Colpix CP437
Jazz / Latin Jazz / Bossa Nova / Cool / Bop / Saxophone

Reissue with SHM-CD format and the latest 24bit remastering. Comes with a mini-description. An overlooked chapter in American bossa jazz of the 60s – recordings that weren't nearly as well-circulated as the Stan Getz bossa nova albums on Verve, but which have an equally special sort of sparkle! The arrangements here are by Manny Albam and Al Cohn – who both bring an earlier sense of large jazz charts into play with the tighter rhythms of the bossa – at a level that makes things explode nicely with a sense of color, while still keeping the groove light overall!

This CD reissue features the great tenor-saxophonist Zoot Sims (who was then 25) leading his first American recording dates. He is heard with two quartets, the team of pianist John Lewis, bassist Curly Russell and drummer Don Lamond and with pianist Harry Biss, bassist Clyde Lombardi and drummer Art Blakey. All but two numbers clock in around the three-minute mark: an over eight-minute alternate version of "Zoot Swings the Blues" and an 11-minute "East of the Sun." Sims is in fine form throughout these cool-toned but hard-swinging sets.

The slightly unusual date Two Jims and a Zoot features tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims interacting with two guitarists (Jimmy Raney and Jim Hall) while given subtle support by bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Osie Johnson. Although the eight selections (none of which caught on as standards) had all been written recently and sometimes display the influence of bossa nova, the quiet performances could pass for 1954 rather than 1964. The cool-toned improvisations and boppish playing have a timeless quality about them although for the time period aspects of this music already sounded a bit old-fashioned.

Zoot Sims - Waiting Game (1966) {2015 Japan Impulse! Classics 50 Series UCCI-9272}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 265 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 104 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 297 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1966, 2015 Impulse! / Verve / Universal Music Japan | UCCI-9272 | LP AS-9131
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Bebop / Saxophone

A rare gem from Zoot Sims – very different than any of his other albums! The session features Zoot blowing over large backings arranged and conducted by Gary McFarland, a bit in the older Verve "with strings" mode, but also sparkling with a lot of the newer elements that McFarland was bringing to his work at the time. The approach is both light and lush at the same time – and Zoot's got a tone and approach that we've never heard on any other record, making the whole album an incredible treat that we'd rank up there with Stan Getz's experiments of the same type from the 60s. Titles include "I Wish I Knew", "Does The Sun Really Shine On The Moon", "Once We Loved", "Old Folks", "September Song", "Stella By Starlight", and "Once I Could Have Loved".

Norman Granz's idea to match Zoot Sims' lyrical, swinging tenor sax with Johnny Mandel's equally arresting compositions was a masterful one. Sims' tart, alternately lush and furious solos were wonderfully spotlighted on such tunes as "Cinnamon and Cloves," "Emily" and "Zoot." The six-tune session also contains effective piano solos from Mike Wofford. The date's tour-de-force was its final selection, the wonderful "Low Life," which Sims probed, illuminated and ultimately redefined via his solo.