John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 - March 23, 1985) was an American … Read Full Bio ↴John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 - March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist.

He was born in Inglewood, California. Sims' family was involved in vaudeville, and, for his part, John learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age. Zoot's father was a vaudeville hoofer, and Zoot prided himself on remembering many of the steps his father taught him.

Following in the footsteps of Lester Young, Sims developed into an innovative tenor saxophonist. Throughout his career, he played with renowned bands, including Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, and Buddy Rich. He was known among his peers as one of the strongest swingers in the field. Sims frequently led his own combos and sometimes toured with his friend Gerry Mulligan with Gerry's sextet, and later with his Concert Jazz Band. Zoot had a long, successful partnership as co-leader of a quintet with Al Cohn, which recorded under "Al and Zoot". That group was a favorite at the New York club "The Half Note." Late in his career, Sims added the soprano saxophone to his performances. Sims' nickname — Zoot — was acquired early in his career while he was on the Kenny Baker band in California. The name was later appropriated for a sax-playing Muppet.

Zoot Sims died in New York on March 23, 1985.

(2) Throughout his career, Zoot Sims was famous for epitomizing the swinging musician, never playing an inappropriate phrase. He always sounded inspired, and although his style did not change much after the early 1950s, Zoot's enthusiasm and creativity never wavered.

Zoot's family was involved in vaudeville, and he played drums and clarinet as a youth. His older brother, Ray Sims, developed into a fine trombonist who sounded like Bill Harris. At age 13, Sims switched permanently to the tenor, and his initial inspiration was Lester Young, although he soon developed his own cool-toned sound. Sims was a professional by the age of 15, landing his first important job with Bobby Sherwood's Orchestra, and he joined Benny Goodman's big band for the first time in 1943; he would be one of BG's favorite tenormen for the next 30 years. He recorded with Joe Bushkin in 1944, and even at that early stage, his style was largely set.

After a period in the Army, Sims was with Goodman from 1946-1947. He gained his initial fame as one of Woody Herman's "Four Brothers" during his time with the Second Herd (1947-1949). Zoot had brief stints with Buddy Rich's short-lived big band, Artie Shaw, Goodman (1950), Chubby Jackson, and Elliot Lawrence. He toured and recorded with Stan Kenton (1953) and Gerry Mulligan (1954-1956). Sims was also a star soloist with Mulligan's Concert Jazz Band of the early '60s and visited the Soviet Union with Benny Goodman in 1962. A freelancer throughout most of his career, Sims often led his own combos or co-led bands with his friend Al Cohn; the two tenors had very similar sounds and styles. Zoot started doubling on soprano quite effectively in the '70s. Through the years, he appeared in countless situations, and always seemed to come out ahead. Fortunately, Zoot Sims recorded frequently, leading sessions for Prestige, Metronome, Vogue, Dawn, Storyville, Argo, ABC-Paramount, Riverside, United Artists, Pacific Jazz, Bethlehem, Colpix, Impulse, Groove Merchant, Famous Door, Choice, Sonet, and a wonderful series for Pablo. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
Zoot Sims Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Never thought I'd fall,
But now I hear love call,
I'm getting sentimental over you

Things you say and do,
Just thrill me through and through,
I'm getting sentimental over you.

I thought I was happy,
I could live without love
Now I must admit,
Love is all I'm thinking of

Won't you please be kind,
And just make up your mind
That you'll be sweet & gentle,

Be gentle with me
Because I'm sentimental over you

Overall Meaning

In this song, Zoot Sims expresses his newfound love and desire for the person who has captured his heart. He starts the song by saying that he never thought he would fall in love, but now that he has, he's completely smitten. He's getting sentimental over this person, which means that he's feeling very emotional and romantic towards them. The things that this person says and does make him feel incredibly happy and fulfilled. He's realized that he was never truly happy until love found him.

Before falling in love, Zoot Sims thought he didn't need it to be happy. However, now that he's experiencing these feelings, he's realized that love is all he can think about. He asks this person to be kind and to make up their mind about their feelings towards him. He wants them to be sweet and gentle because he's very sentimental over them.

Overall, Zoot Sims' lyrics express the classic theme of falling in love unexpectedly and being completely consumed by the emotions that come with it. He illustrates this feeling of sentimentality, which is often associated with reminiscence, nostalgia, and longing.

Line by Line Meaning

Never thought I'd fall,
I never thought I would fall in love.

But now I hear love call,
But now I hear love calling out to my heart.

I'm getting sentimental over you
I'm starting to feel emotional and nostalgic about you.

Things you say and do,
The things you say and do make me feel really excited and happy.

Just thrill me through and through,
They excite my entire body and fill me with joy.

I'm getting sentimental over you.
I'm feeling more and more emotional and nostalgic about you.

I thought I was happy,
I used to think I was happy without love.

I could live without love
I used to believe that I could live without love.

Now I must admit,
But now I have to admit that I was wrong.

Love is all I'm thinking of
Because now love is all I can think about.

Won't you please be kind,
Can you please be kind to me?