Pete "La Roca" Sims was an American jazz drummer. Born and raised in Harlem by a pianist mother and a stepfather who played trumpet, he was introduced to jazz by his uncle Kenneth Bright, a major shareholder in Circle Records and the manager of rehearsal spaces above the Lafayette Theater. Sims studied percussion at the High School of Music and Art and at the City College of New York, where he played tympani in the CCNY Orchestra. He adopted the name La Roca early in his musical career, when he played timbales for six years in Latin 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 the New York Times in 1982 that he did so only out of necessity:
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 ["La Roca"] was clever; right now, it's an 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.
In 1957, Max Roach became aware of him while jamming at Birdland and recommended him to Sonny Rollins. As drummer of Rollins' trio on the afternoon set at the Village Vanguard on November 3 he became part of the important record A Night at the Village Vanguard (Originally only one of five recorded tracks with La Roca found their way on the album). In 1959 he recorded with Jackie McLean (New Soil) and in a quartet with Tony Scott, Bill Evans and Jimmy Garrison. Besides Garrison he often joined with bassists who played in the Bill Evans Trio, especially Scott LaFaro and Steve Swallow, and also accompanied pianists like Steve Kuhn, Don Friedman and Paul Bley.
Between the end of the 1950s and 1968, he also played with Slide Hampton, the John Coltrane Quartet, Marian McPartland, Art Farmer, Freddie Hubbard, Mose Allison, Charles Lloyd, among others, as well as leading his own group and working as the house drummer at the Jazz Workshop in Boston, Massachusetts. During this period, he recorded two albums under his own name, Basra (Blue Note, 1965) and Turkish Women at the Bath (Douglas, 1967), also issued as Bliss under pianist Chick Corea's name on Muse.
In 1968, with the market for acoustic jazz in decline, Sims decided to enroll in law school. By this time La Roca 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 at the time of a 1997 radio interview with WNYC's Steve Sullivan. When his second album as leader, Turkish Women at the Bath, was released under Chick Corea's name without La Roca's consent, Sims filed and argued a lawsuit against Douglas Records, and the erroneously-labeled records were recalled.
He returned to jazz part-time in 1979, and recorded one new album as a leader, Swing Time (Blue Note, 1997).
He died in New York of lung cancer at the age of 74.
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Some of their strengths
Pete La Roca has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Adventurous, Loyal, Courageous, Independent, Honest, and Passionate.
Independent and Brave
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Pete La Roca is someone who is an independent, brave, and honest person who approaches life with energy, intuition, passion, and generosity. A person who is charismatic and resourceful.
Helpful and Supportive
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Pete La Roca well know them as someone who can be accepting, supportive, and productive, like a garden.
Active and Ambitious
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Pete La Roca as someone who is active, ambitious, bold, and courageous.
A person who is driven and organized, is wise with money, who knows how to tell a good story, likes physical activity, and who loves learning.
Courageous and Strong
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Pete La Roca is someone who is a risk-taker and a pioneer who only gets stronger through the hardships that are encountered in life.
They are also someone who is calm, comforting, and stable, and who loves stability and being a good friend and loyal partner.
Independent and Dynamic
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Pete La Roca tends to be someone who is independent, dynamic, and courageous. Who can be positive, energetic, self-reliant, and adventurous, and who can make friends easily.
Some of Pete La Roca's challenges
While Pete La Roca has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Pete La Roca can be Impulsive, Emotional, Stubborn, Short-tempered, Standoffish, Aggressive, and Rebellious.
Short-tempered and Impulsive
One of Pete La Roca's key challenges is that they are someone who can come across as short-tempered and impulsive.
Pete La Roca must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs, and can have difficulty dealing with responsibility, authority, or criticism.
Impulsive and Aggressive
Pete La Roca is someone who can be impulsive, aggressive, and confrontational, can have difficulty listening to others, be moody and high strung, have conflict with authority figures, be too judgmental of others, and who can be overindulgent and extravagant.
Aggressive and Domineering
Finally, Pete La Roca also can be aggressive, impatient, impulsive, and short-tempered.
