| Sonny Simmons | |
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Sonny Simmons Photo: Matt Brown |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Huey Simmons |
| Born | August 4, 1933 , Sicily Island, LA, USA |
| Origin | Oakland, CA, USA |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Instruments | Alto saxophone, English horn |
| Labels | ESP-Disk |
| Website | sonnysimmons.org |
Huey "Sonny" Simmons (b. August 4, 1933, Sicily Island, Louisiana) is an American jazz musician.[1]
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He grew up in Oakland, California, where he began playing the english horn. At age 16 he took up the alto saxophone, which became his primary instrument. He plays primarily in an avant garde style ocassionally bordering on free jazz. He was married to Barbara Donald, whom played trumpet on several of his early records,including his ESP Disk titles; Staying on the Watch and Music From the Spheres. Personal problems derailed both his music career and home life, leading to divorce and homlessness. He purportedly played for spare change on the streets of San Francisco for many years, until he ressurected his career in the early 1990's and began playing in night clubs again. He is one of the few jazz musicians to play the english horn.
In the early 1960s he worked with Charles Mingus and Prince Lasha before recording his own LPs for ESP-Disk.
With Prince Lasha
With Elvin Jones/Jimmy Garrison
With Eric Dolphy