"Zoot" Sims  was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano. Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age. Following in the footsteps of Lester Young, Sims developed into an innovative tenor saxophonist. Throughout his career, he played with big bands, starting with those of Kenny Baker and Bobby Sherwood after dropping out of high school after one year. He played with Benny Goodman's band in 1943 and replaced his idol Ben Webster in Sid Catlett's Quartet in 1944.In the 1950s and '60s, Sims had a long, successful partnership as co-leader of a quintet with Al Cohn, which recorded under the name "Al and Zoot". Sims acquired the nickname "Zoot" early in his career while he was in the Kenny Baker band in California.