Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims - Recorded This Day in.Jazz July 28th 1956

Jutta Hipp (February 4, 1925 – April 7, 2003) was a jazz pianist and composer. Born in Leipzig during the Weimar Republic, Hipp initially listened to jazz in secret, as it was not approved of by the Nazi authorities. After World War II, she became a refugee, often lacking food and other necessities. By the early 1950s, she was a touring pianist and soon led her own bands. Critic Leonard Feather heard Hipp perform in Germany in 1954, recorded her, and organized her move to the United States the following year. Club and festival appearances soon followed, as did album releases.

Listen here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBZmD4G_qXo4o1qTQd-YG3UwSwQfnU25K

For reasons that are unclear, Hipp's last recording was in 1956. She started working in a clothing factory, and ultimately cut herself off from the music world. She remained in the United States, and worked for the clothing company for 35 years.

Jutta Hipp with Zoot Sims is an album by German jazz pianist Jutta Hipp recorded in 1956 which was released on the Blue Note label as BLP 1530.

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow and Thom Jurek awarded the albums 4½ stars stating "as a whole, this recording is so wonderfully executed, one has to wonder why Hipp simply dropped out of the jazz world".

Writing in the liner notes for the album, jazz critic Leonard Feather said:

The total effect to be observed on these two sides is similar to what you would experience if you happened to drop in one night at Basin Street or the bohemia and found Jutta Hipp sitting in with Zoot's combo. The same laissez-souffler (or man, let's blow) spirit; the same concentration on individual expression. If fact, everything is there but the audience applause; it only remains to be hoped that you'll feel like providing it yourself.

Track listing:
"Just Blues" (Zoot Sims) – 8:42
"Violets for Your Furs" (Matt Dennis, Tom Adair) – 6:10
"Down Home" (Jerry Lloyd) – 6:43
"Almost Like Being in Love" (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) – 6:16
"Wee Dot" (J. J. Johnson, Leo Parker) – 7:28
"Too Close for Comfort" (Jerry Bock, George David Weiss, Larry Holofcener) – 6:52
"These Foolish Things" (Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey) – 6:12 Bonus track on CD reissue
"'S Wonderful" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 5:54 Bonus track on CD reissue

Personnel
Jutta Hipp – piano
Zoot Sims – tenor saxophone
Jerry Lloyd – trumpet
Ahmed Abdul-Malik – bass
Ed Thigpen – drums