Sonny Simmons

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Sonny Simmons

Huey "Sonny" Simmons (born August 4, 1933 in Sicily Island , Louisiana ) is an American jazz musician ( alto and tenor saxophone , English horn ).

Live and act

Simmons is the son of a pastor who played drums and a choir singer. He began to learn English horn at the age of seven, then switched to the alto saxophone at the age of 16 under the influence of Charlie Parker's music . He first worked in rhythm and blues bands before playing with Sonny Stitt , Cal Tjader and Dexter Gordon . In 1961 he gained experience in the band of Charles Mingus (among others, together with Rahsaan Roland Kirk ).

In the next few years he worked on recordings of Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison as well as Eric Dolphy ( Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions ) with. In 1962 he founded a band with Prince Lasha , which became known as "Firebirds" with Bobby Hutcherson , Gary Peacock and Charles Moffett senior . Subsequently, his wife, the trumpeter Barbara Donald , became his most important musical partner. He also played in the orchestra of Sam Rivers , Pharoah Sanders and Marvin Gaye . After the divorce in 1979, the album "Backwoods Suite" (1982) was followed by temporary withdrawals from the scene because of bringing up children and working in better-nourishing professions.

It wasn't until 1992 that Simmons made a comeback; he played at festivals in the following years and made other records with Reggie Workman , Cindy Blackman and Horace Tapscott . In the early 2000s, he founded the formation The Cosmonautics with James Carter , William Parker , Jay Rosen , Karen Borca and Michael Marcus , with which he recorded two albums for the Boxholder label . In 2013 he released the solo album Out into the Andromeda .

literature

  • Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 1: A – L (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16512). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16512-0 , pp. 1224f.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Simmons, Sonny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Simmons, Huey
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician (alto and tenor saxophone, English horn)
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Sicily Island , Louisiana