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In 1968, with the market for acoustic jazz in decline, Sims decided to enroll in law school. By this time he was already earning most of his income by driving a taxi cab in New York City, a job he held for five years during the 1960s. Sims became a lawyer in the early 1970s, and was still practicing
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I can't deny that I once played under the name La Roca, but I have to insist that my name is Peter Sims with La Roca in brackets or in quotes. For 16 or 17 years, when I have not been playing the music, people have known me as Sims....When I was 14 or 15, I thought was clever; right now, it's an
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bands. In the 1970s, during a hiatus from jazz performance, he resumed using his original surname. When he returned to jazz in the late 1970s, he usually inserted "La Roca" into his name in quotation marks to help audiences familiar with his early work identify him. He told
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was re-released on Muse
Records as "Bliss" in 1973 under Chick Corea's name (without Sims' consent), Sims filed a lawsuit and served as his own legal counsel. Sims won his suit, and the erroneously-labeled records were recalled.
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embarrassment. I thought that it would be something that people would probably remember - boy, was I ever right on that one! I can't make my conversion.
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by a pianist mother and a stepfather who played trumpet, he was introduced to jazz by his uncle
Kenneth Bright, a major shareholder in
188:(Only one of five recorded tracks with La Roca was included on the original single LP release of the album). In 1959 he recorded with
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in the CCNY Orchestra. He adopted the name La Roca early in his musical career, when he played
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at the time of a 1997 radio interview with WNYC's Steve
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He returned to jazz part-time in 1979, and recorded one new album as a leader,
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Sims died in 2012 in New York of lung cancer, at the age of 74.
938:(recorded 1959, Muse, 1982); both Muse LPs reissued on CD as
265:. He recorded two albums as a leader during the mid-1960s,
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Between the end of the 1950s and 1968, he also played with
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80:
177:. As drummer of Rollins' trio on the afternoon set at the
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on
November 3 he became part of the important record
1097:"Pete La Roca, Top Post-Bop Jazz Drummer, Has Died"
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with José Francisco Tapiz for
Tomajazz.com in 2004.
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982:"Drummer & Composer Pete La Roca Dies at 74"
865:St Thomas – Sonny Rollins Trio in Stockholm 1959
156:in 1982 that he did so only out of necessity:
127:and the manager of rehearsal spaces above the
108:; April 7, 1938 – November 20, 2012, known as
1034:"Lawyer-Drummer Makes a Case for His Day Gig"
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694:The Country and Western Sound of Jazz Pianos
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463:(rec. 1957, Blue Note compilation, 1979)
1212:21st-century African-American musicians
1207:20th-century African-American musicians
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112:from 1957 until 1968) was an American
218:, and also accompanied pianists like
169:became aware of him while jamming at
594:Slide Hampton and His Horn of Plenty
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14:
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1032:Pareles, Jon (October 15, 1982).
341:(Douglas, 1967; also released as
131:. Sims studied percussion at the
119:and attorney. Born and raised in
1150:Pete LaRoca Sims Discography at
1122:"Charles Lloyd - Live At Slugs'"
877:(recorded 1959, Jazz Hour, 1992)
773:Charles Lloyd - Live at Slugs' (
686:(rec. 1960, PJL (J), 2005) with
858:A Night at the Village Vanguard
184:A Night at the Village Vanguard
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1089:
1068:The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz
1010:
998:Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians
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951:With the Paul Serrano Quintet
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475:(rec. 1958, Blue Note, 1965)
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133:High School of Music and Art
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717:Sing Me Softly of the Blues
537:Sing Me Softly of the Blues
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1197:Blue Note Records artists
1187:African-American drummers
338:Turkish Women at the Bath
292:Turkish Women at the Bath
278:Turkish Women at the Bath
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40:
30:
23:
1003:August 31, 2012, at the
737:Booker Little and Friend
666:The Night of the Cookers
198:) and in a quartet with
137:City College of New York
959:(Riverside, 1961) with
697:(Dauntless, 1963) with
473:Cool Struttin' Volume 2
173:and recommended him to
1192:American jazz drummers
821:The Feeling Is Mutual
529:(Atlantic, 1964) with
349:'s name on Muse, 1973)
163:
263:Boston, Massachusetts
158:
1202:Muse Records artists
759:Of Course, of Course
614:Somethin' Sanctified
468:Sonny Clark Quintets
1152:JazzDiscography.com
1073:Guinness Publishing
988:, November 20, 2012
961:Cannonball Adderley
719:(Venus, 1997) with
526:To Sweden with Love
102:Pete "La Roca" Sims
1071:(First ed.).
1038:The New York Times
154:The New York Times
139:, where he played
895:(Riverside, 1962)
861:(Blue Note, 1957)
823:(Milestone, 1967)
803:(Blue Note, 1961)
795:(Blue Note, 1959)
669:(Blue Note, 1965)
661:(Blue Note, 1964)
643:(Blue Note, 1963)
635:(Blue Note, 1963)
493:(Blue Note, 1963)
355:(Blue Note, 1997)
243:Marian McPartland
147:for six years in
129:Lafayette Theater
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68:November 20, 2012
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921:(recorded 1959,
770:(Columbia, 1965)
762:(Columbia, 1965)
710:(J), 1975) with
699:Toshiko Akiyoshi
617:(Atlantic, 1961)
609:(Atlantic, 1960)
606:Sister Salvation
540:(Atlantic, 1965)
511:(Old Town, 1961)
445:(New Jazz, 1962)
427:(Jazztime, 1961)
373:(Atlantic, 1964)
179:Village Vanguard
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1075:. p. 248.
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570:Scott LaFaro –
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1065:, ed. (1992).
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1040:. New York, NY
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980:Jeff Tamarkin
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919:Golden Moments
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1158:Pete La Roca
1151:
1129:. Retrieved
1125:
1116:
1104:. Retrieved
1100:
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1066:
1063:Colin Larkin
1042:. Retrieved
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706:(rec. 1966,
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688:Scott LaFaro
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658:Blue Spirits
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575:(rec. 1961,
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565:Scott LaFaro
556:Circle Waltz
554:
547:Don Friedman
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482:Johnny Coles
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365:With Anamari
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276:
275:, 1965) and
266:
255:Mose Allison
232:
224:Don Friedman
212:Scott LaFaro
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159:
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110:Pete La Roca
109:
105:
101:
100:
70:(2012-11-20)
25:Pete La Roca
18:
1182:2012 deaths
1177:1938 births
1131:October 24,
1044:February 9,
1007:at Jazz.com
837:The Message
721:George Mraz
704:Three Waves
452:Sonny Clark
380:Bill Barron
347:Chick Corea
314:Discography
135:and at the
1171:Categories
986:Jazz Times
968:References
927:Bill Evans
902:Tony Scott
676:Steve Kuhn
518:Art Farmer
500:Ted Curson
434:Jaki Byard
416:Rocky Boyd
406:Footloose!
360:As sideman
301:Swing Time
247:Art Farmer
220:Steve Kuhn
204:Bill Evans
200:Tony Scott
106:Peter Sims
87:Occupation
47:1938-04-07
36:Peter Sims
32:Birth name
1017:Interview
913:Signature
814:Dick Katz
775:Resonance
742:Bethlehem
674:With the
640:Our Thing
577:Resonance
561:Riverside
545:With the
398:Paul Bley
353:Swingtime
331:Blue Note
319:As leader
307:, 1997).
305:Blue Note
285:, 1967).
273:Blue Note
241:Quartet,
228:Paul Bley
167:Max Roach
165:In 1957,
1162:AllMusic
1106:July 29,
1001:Archived
800:Bluesnik
792:New Soil
632:Page One
531:Jim Hall
195:New Soil
171:Birdland
145:timbales
58:New York
1126:Discogs
1101:Npr.org
946:, 1999)
944:32 Jazz
940:At Last
915:, 1959)
871:, 1984)
843:, 1960)
777:, 2014)
767:Nirvana
744:, 1961)
601:, 1959)
579:, 2009)
471:a.k.a.
424:Ease It
371:Anamari
333:, 1965)
283:Douglas
141:tympani
117:drummer
91:Drummer
1079:
869:Dragon
599:Strand
442:Hi-Fly
345:under
343:Bliss!
257:, and
237:, the
121:Harlem
104:(born
77:Genres
54:Harlem
909:Gypsy
900:With
882:With
848:With
828:With
808:With
782:With
749:With
727:With
648:With
622:With
584:With
516:With
498:With
480:With
450:With
432:With
414:With
396:With
378:With
326:Basra
268:Basra
149:Latin
1133:2017
1108:2021
1077:ISBN
1046:2021
963:a.o.
929:and
923:Muse
875:Oleo
841:Jaro
812:and
684:1960
678:Trio
549:Trio
226:and
214:and
206:and
114:jazz
81:Jazz
65:Died
41:Born
1160:at
1173::
1124:.
1099:.
1054:^
1036:.
1024:^
984:,
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249:,
245:,
230:.
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1110:.
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942:(
911:(
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49:)
45:(
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