Zoot Sims made his only Riverside appearance as a leader early in his long career, on this 1956 album that offers a rather odd assortment of talent. Pianist/arranger George Handy did some notable writing in the Forties for the legendary early-modern Boyd Raeburn orchestra, but never fulfilled that promise; Osie Johnson on drums and trumpeter Nick Travis were mainly known as studio musicians; and Wilbur Ware, then newly-arrived on the scene, was basically a hard-bop bassist. The intriguingly constructed material is largely by Handy (although some long-forgotten contractual problems led to his wife being credited as composer!)--and somehow Zoot brings it all together with some remarkable, swinging work on both alto and tenor.

with Nick Travis, George Handy, Wilbur Ware, Osie Johnson