Zoot Sims - Brother In Swing (1950)

With the exception of five songs recorded in Sweden two months earlier, the music on this out-of-print Inner City LP (material licensed from the French Vogue label) is from the first recording session led by tenor-saxophonist Zoot Sims. Sims, heard in a quartet with pianist Gerry Wiggins, bassist Pierre Michelot and drummer Kenny Clarke, performs eight selections plus is heard on five alternate takes. Twenty-five at the time, a veteran of Woody Herman's "Four Brothers" band and currently touring Europe with Benny Goodman's Sextet, Zoot Sims was more influenced by Lester Young than he would be a few years later but he was already a hard-swinger. Historic and enjoyable music.~Scott Yanow