Zoot Sims In Paris 1956

Thanks to the insistence of Henri Renaud, Zoot Sims and Jon Eardley had been contacted by a French label to record an album with the former. Zoot and the pianist know each other well, having been in the studios together three years previously with trombonist Frank Rosolino. Zoot, however -- despite all the equanimity he displayed, whatever the context, as a musician who proudly claimed to be a “club musician” -- didn’t think it would be superfluous if they got together at some point prior to the planned session. So the day before, everyone gathered in a private studio after the Olympia concert: pianist Henri Renaud and Eddie de Haas, a Dutch bassist living in Paris; drummer Charles Saudrais, then aged only 18; trumpeter Jon Eardley; and Zoot Sims. At the request of Renaud and Zoot, who wanted to hear themselves on some tunes, the tape reels were spinning. The results were remarkable, and any thoughts of incompatibility were immediately forgotten; so much so that, thanks to Frank Ténot (and also t