Two Tenors Trading in the Mid-Fifties
Cohn and Sims trade solos with the ease of players who know exactly what the other will do.
The real story of From A to...Z is Zoot Sims. This isn't a sideman's album — it's a genuine partnership, two tenor saxophonists of nearly equal weight splitting the front line and the solo duties. That matters because Cohn could have led a straightforward quartet or quintet and let everyone orbit around him. Instead, he built something collaborative, almost conversational. Sims had a lighter, more lyrical tone than Cohn's browner sound, and on these six tracks the two voices play off each other naturally, sometimes in unison, sometimes trading eight or sixteen bars at a time. They don't compete; they complement.
The sextet format — two tenors, trumpet, trombone, rhythm — was fashionable in the mid-1950s, but Cohn and Sims made it work by keeping things swinging and direct. There's no pretense here, no strings or overdubs. Just good hard-bop players doing what they do best, which is play changes and blow. The session captures them in early 1956, when Cohn was moving between gigs and labels and Sims was still building his reputation. For listeners used to Sims in a bebop or ballad setting, this sextet date shows his durability across different contexts.
From A to...Z isn't a milestone or a turning point in either man's career. It's a solid mid-career date that rewards repeated listening, especially if you care about tenor saxophone phrasing and how two voices of that weight can inhabit the same space without stepping on each other. Not essential, but genuinely worth your time if you're exploring Cohn or Sims from this era.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by Al Cohn
Jazz Alive! A Night at the Half Note 1959
The Four Brothers… Together Again! 1957
The Al Cohn Quintet 1956
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Al Cohn’s Tones 1956
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
