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The Career Of Zoot Sims

Tenor saxophonist “Zoot” Sims was known for his swinging style and innovative use of harmony in his solos.  He was best known for his associations with Benny Goodman, Woody Herman and a quintet with fellow tenor saxophonist Al Cohn.  In addition we will hear him with Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Castro, the Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band, Jimmy Rushing, The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band, Miles Davis & Thelonious Monk, Art Pepper, Carmen McRae, Stan Kenton, Jazz At the Philharmonic.  We will hear one of his compositions played by the Diva Orchestra.

The Slide Show has my photographs of some of he musicians heard on this show.

Due to copyright restrictions, the audio from this show is no longer available. Audio links are available for one week after a show airs, starting on the Monday after the show.

The video is of Zoot Sims playing "Georgia on My Mind" with Dick Hyman (p) Jimmy Woode (b) and Kenny Clarke (d) in San Remo, Italy in 1983.

Dennis Owsley has broadcast a weekly jazz show for St. Louis Public Radio since April 1983. He holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry and is a retired Monsanto Senior Science Fellow and college teacher. His show, Jazz Unlimited, airs every Sunday from 9:00 p.m. to midnight. The show has the largest jazz audience in St. Louis and was named Best Jazz Radio Show in St. Louis for the years 2005-2007 and 2009 by the Riverfront Times. In celebration of his 25 years on the air, January 24, 2008 was proclaimed Dennis Owsley Day" in the City of St. Louis. He is the 2010 winner of the St. Louis Public Radio Millard S. Cohen Lifetime Achievement Award. Dennis is also a noted photographer, and his exhibit, In the Moment: Photographs of Jazz Musicians, ran from September 23, 2005 to January 21, 2006 at the Sheldon Art Gallery. He is a lifetime student of jazz history and teaches short courses on the subject. Dennis is the author of the award-winning book City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis 1985-1973, published in 2006.