PhotoStory3: Zoot Sims

After Dave Pell's remarks Monday about Zoot Sims and his influence on West Coast jazz, I thought it only fitting to ask photographer Paul Slaughter to tell us what was going on when he took this fabulous image of the expressive tenor saxophonist:

"I remember this night well. The photo was taken on Sunday, September 19, 1971. I was photographing at the 14th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Back then, official festival photographers were few, and we were allowed terrific access to the backstage area and front of the stage.

"The concert on this particular Sunday evening was simply called, "The Jam Session." The musicians on the bill? Oscar Peterson, piano; Zoot Sims and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, tenor saxophones; Benny Carter, alto saxophone; Clark Terry, trumpet; Bill Harris, trombone; Louie Bellson, drums; and Ray Brown, bass. An amazing evening.

"At the concert, Zoot was dressed smartly in a suit and played especially "hot." I knew that Zoot had a habit of bending backward when he played. As a jazz photographer, I notice the little things performers do that make them unique. Then I try to capture that aspect at different moments.

"My goal that night was to capture Zoot leaning back in a particularly expressive way. So I rested my camera on the stage, which was about five feet from the ground. Then I just looked through the viewfinder and waited. When Zoot leaned back and made a face, I squeezed the shutter."

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Comments

[Virgil Virst]

Paul's all Jam-cam quick pic suits Zoot, way swell, pray tell.

[Denis Ouellet]

Thank you for this beautiful photograph.
Now all we're missing is the sound (-:
That must have been an awesome concert.

Denis

[Michael Steinman]

Nice work as always, Marc! I come from the ancient school of thought that says people should get credit for what they do. Paul's photo looked oddly familiar, and I recognized that it has been reprinted with no photo credit on the front and back sleeves of a Classic Jazz CD reissue, "Zoot Sims and Bucky Pizzarelli." Reviewing that CD for Cadence, I commented on the oddity of the photo -- with a bassist prominent -- for a CD that is tenor-guitar duets. I hope, at the very least, that Paul got paid for the use of his glorious photo!

[David]

Michael, My brother, a photographer, assures me that getting paid for reuse of work can be as difficult for photographers as for musicians - and of course if the other party is a jazz reissue label one wonders if even the musicians got paid. Incidentally, there is a better Zoot-Bucky duo album on Storyville called "Elegiac," recorded live on 11/06/80. Remastered from cassette, the sound isn't bad, and the 70 minutes of music are exceptional. The cover artist is credited and the cooperation of Bucky and Zoot's estate are noted.