Listening to Prestige Records Part 34: Zoot Sims Quartet

We're coming to a bit of a dark night of my Prestige soul, where I'm starting not to be able to find things. The very next session listed on Jazzdisco.org's discography is Oscar Pettiford with his Cello and Quartet, featuring Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Lloyd Trotman and Jo Jones, so I guess that means Oscar Pettiford plus a quartet. It's one of those not-really-Prestige sessions, only released on their 24000 series reissues. But I listened to it anyway, because I'd be crazy not to.

The next real Prestige session is this one with Zoot Sims. Four tracks -- "My Silent Love," "Jane-O," "Dancing in the Dark" and "Memories of You." Only "Jane-O" is on Spotify, and that's because it was included on the soundtrack of a short film called Bottle Rocket. YouTube has both "Jane-O" and "Memories of You." They're both pure delight -- Zoot at his lyrical best.

Lewis was still two years away from forming the Modern Jazz Quartet, although he was already working a lot with Ray Brown and original MJQ drummer Kenny Clarke. He does some nice but limited soloing here.