Sonny Simmons: A Playlist and Excerpts from an Obscure Sample Library

For the long-awaited publication of the autobiography of Sonny Simmons, Better Do It Now Before You Die Later, Sonny’s coauthor, Marc Chaloin, and I have compiled a selection of tracks from Sonny’s catalog. It is available online, following this link: “Wire Playlist: Sonny Simmons.”

For this work, Marc sent me a copy of what might be the most obscure item in Sonny’s discography: Jazz Quartet, Volume 1: Saxophone Legacy, a CD Sonny recorded alone for Zero-G, a company that sold sample libraries to music producers. On there, Sonny demonstrates various styles, from Latin music, to R & B, to modern genres well outside of his usual scope (including takes on reggae and house music). Between tracks, Sonny provides brief commentary.

This release, which seems to be from 1998, barely left any traces behind, but the company’s website can still be retrieved in the meanders of the indispensable Internet Archive. A very much low-resolution copy of the cover and a track list can be found on the website of Japanese sampling material retailer Crypton Future Media. Are there electronic music tracks making use of this sample CD out there? This is currently unknown, but please get in touch if you have any information.

We have included one track from this CD in the Wire playlist linked above. Here are a few more excerpts to celebrate the publication of Better Do It Now Before You Die Later.

Jazz 3 (Eb/60)

Latin 2 (Eb/D/124)

R&B 2 (Bb/116)

Rock ’n’ Roll (Cmin/100)

Ballad

House 2 (Bb/120)

Also make sure to check out Kirk Heydt’s recent reissue of Sonny’s 1982 Global Jungle in its “Original Lost Mix” at Spin Records Boise.