Sims, Zoot - In A Sentimental Mood

What a treat this video is! You get to find out for sure that Zoot used the same 1935 Radio Improved Selmer tenor virtually his entire career. He bought the horn used when he was a teenager in the Benny Goodman band. Red Mitchell, the bassist on this session interviews Zoot between numbers to good effect. The sound and video quality is quite good and the musicianship is top notch, despite the fact that Zoot was destined to pass away later that year.. Rune Gustafson on guitar rounds out the trio, recorded in an intimate setting.If you are a Zoot Sims fan or just a fan of small group jazz, you will cherish this DVD. If you are new to Zoot he is regarded as one of the top saxophonists of all time. Woody Herman famously said that Zoot is one of the best rhythm sections you can have. He was known as a consummate swinger - never losing the beat despite the complexity of solo. And he almost never played a wrong note or inappropriate phrase. He said enough in his solos without having to show you how many notes he could cram in. Hope you'll consider giving Zoot a spot in your library.

Zoot fans will want to get behind this new release from a Swedish session in 1984, just months before Zoot's passing. Flanked by Red Mitchell and Rune Gustafsson in an intimate living room setting, Zoot is at his best and shows none of his age.There's practically no video of Zoot Sims in his element, and this title immediately leaps forward as THE ONE to have and cherish. If this isn't enough, there's a running interview between Red and Zoot that plays between songs (not over them). Zoot tells stories from his extensive career.2-ch LPCM audio is amazingly clear and well recorded, every little nuance of Zoot's technique is clearly audible. This audio is better than most CDs. The video is average for the time, nothing special but at least it doesn't detract from the experience.I can't say it enough, if you are a Zoot Sims fan or even just curious about him, this is a must-have title. Zoot's total command of the instrument and the music is aptly displayed here along with 2 other world-class musicians. BUY THIS!!!!

Zoot Sims is, without a doubt, the most lyrical sax player of contemporary times.This video provides a rare, warm look at Zoots playing and personality. The audio quality is stunning and I've played it over and over. The interview sections are funny and heart warming!Recorded only 4 months before Zoot died (at 60), this should be required viewing for jazz lovers and players alike. Don't miss it! I have a feeling (like so much fine jazz) it will disappear from the shelves in the near future.The only thing that is missing is a look at Zoots soprano sax playing. Pick up "Zoot Sims..Soprano Sax"! No one, but no one plays Soprano like Zoot did!

This is the video version of a Pablo release from 1985. I had the original on cassette and it is good to have the DVD available. Zoot only had months to live when this was made but that fact does not overshadow the music. He and Red Mitchell are in fine form here.

The first reviewer nailed it, get it!. Any Zoot Sims fan will love this DVD. He sounds just like his swingin' self, it will sound like your cds. When it ended, my wife said, " It's over already ! ", that sums it up. Great stuff, but you will want more.

I enjoyed this... I liked it and I would recommend this others .Good seller . would buy from again .

Zoot Sims was, for me, the most consistently swinging musician I ever heard. This film combines performance footage with an interview with Zoot that captures the kind of cat that he was. Highly recommended!!

Do you know much about the jazz scene? Well, no I don't either, and I'm a long time musician. Rock and roll and jazz are miles apart though, so I figured I'd educate myself with this DVD of one of the premier jazz musicians, Zoot Sims. It was a fun time and a journey you should take as well. Let's get the background story on this jazzman, then we'll talk a bit about the performances on this disc.WikipediaHe was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims.[2] Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age. His father was a vaudeville hoofer, and Sims prided himself on remembering many of the steps his father taught him.Following in the footsteps of Lester Young, Sims developed into an innovative tenor saxophonist. Throughout his career, he played with renowned bands, including Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, and Buddy Rich. Sims was also one of Woody Herman's "Four Brothers", and he was known among his peers as one of the strongest swingers in the field. He frequently led his own combos and sometimes toured with his friend Gerry Mulligan's sextet, and later with Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band.In the 1950s and '60s, Sims had a long, successful partnership as co-leader of a quintet with Al Cohn, which recorded under the name "Al and Zoot". That group was a favorite at the New York club The Half Note. Always fond of the higher register of the tenor sax, Zoot also liked to play alto and late in his career added the soprano saxophone to his performances, while recording a series of albums for the Pablo Records label of impresario Norman Granz. Zoot also played on some of Jack Kerouac's recordings.Sims acquired the nickname - Zoot - early in his career while he was in the Kenny Baker band in California. The name was later appropriated for a sax-playing Muppet.Zoot Sims died in New York on March 23, 1985./WikipediaThis performance takes place at the library of the Sonet headquarters building in Lidingo, Sweden in 1984, only four months before Zoot died at the age of 60. These songs are performed in a casual setting, with only bass and guitar for augmentation. There are titles at the beginning of each song, which helped me out, being unfamiliar with the material being played. Between each song is a small interview clip with Zoot. Personally, I felt they should have had the entire performance done without breaks, and had the interview at either the beginning or the end of the show. The music is so relaxing that the clips in between take you out of the mood that was built up with the previous song.This DVD reminds me of something that you would see on a public television special. It's informative, professional and well filmed. It's quite amazing to watch them play as they're reading the song from sheet music in some performances, as I'm not able to read sheet music myself.This DVD is filmed in full screen, and the stereo sound is very nice. The guitar is slightly buried in the mix though, except for the guitar solos. The stand-up bass is front in the mix, all most drowning out the guitar phrasing at points. But the important part is Zoot, and his saxophone levels are just right at all times, and every performance is impeccable. Here are the songs performed;1.In A Sentimental Mood2.Gone With The Wind3.Castle Blues4.Sweet Lorraine5.'Tis Autumn6.Autumn LeavesThis is a great DVD for jazz purists, or a novice like me. Pick it up, you'll be glad you did.8/10.

It's marvellous to have this opportunity to see the great Zoot Sims still in such form only a few months before his death in 1985. Shot in an informal atmosphere, with the support of the great bassist Red Mitchell and Swedish guitarist Rune Gustafsson, Zoot plays 5 standards and an original of his own, and chats to Red Mitchell.

I was very pleased to see this released, as there isn't a lot of video of Zoot Sims exept the 30 mins on rhapsody films and jazz at the philharmonic 75 on Norman Granz series. The review by R D Grimes on Amazon US says it all!, please read it! If you are a zoot fan BUY THIS.

Haven't viewed this DVD as bought as a gift for a friend. but he tells me that this a nice production of Dear Zoot towards the end of his life.

* Siempre es gratificante escuchar al gran Zoot, aunque sea en una sesión tan cercana y familiar como la que aquí se visiona (pero con el valor añadido de que tal vez fuese su última actuación).Recomendable.

Cette petite session intimiste, enregistrée dans le cadre cozy d'une bibliothèque cossue, en Suède, un froid jour de novembre 1984, distille un subtil ravissement.Zoot, émacié, très fatigué, au bout du rouleau même (il allait disparaître quatre mois plus tard), libère ses dernières pensées musicales, son dernier message, plus mélodieux, plus troublant et fragile que jamais. Juste entouré, superbement, de Red Mitchell à la contrebasse et Rune Gustafsson à la guitare, il s'abandonne à d'exquises divagations sur des thèmes éprouvés (In a sentimental mood, Gone with the wind, 'Tis autumn, Autumn leaves...). Chaque instant est magique et on retient son souffle pour n'en rien perdre tant ici vibre avec douceur l'alchimie cool du jazz...