JIMMY HEATH - Picture Of Heath
Xanadu 906072
Jimmy Heath - tenor and soprano sax; Barry Harris - piano; Sam Jones - bass; Billy Higgins - drums
Jimmy Heath was approaching 50 when this session was released, with a thirty-year professional career behind him, including associations with some of the greatest names of post-war jazz, including a stint as Coltrane’s replacement in Miles’ epochal 1959 band that continues to define the sound of jazz for many.
Despite this, like many of his generation the early 70s were proving to be a pretty lean time as the preceding decade had seen audiences for the post-bop verities collapse before the onslaught of new electrified styles, leaving many of the generation who had developed the music to such a high pitch without a gig. Fortunately Heath had a long-time fan in producer Don Schlitten, who tracked him down and got him back into the studio for a series of recordings for the Xanadu label that kick-started his career back towards recognition he deserved.
This 1975 offering sees him revisiting some of his compositions from the classic era twenty years before, in the company of eminently simpatico peers of the same generation, in a relaxed workout with plenty of solo space for everyone. Heath sounds as good as ever, his full robust tone equally suited to fluent bop lines, touches of honking R&B or modal explorations, and he had developed a nice touch on soprano as well, while the rhythm section are exemplary throughout. Yet despite the excellent playing it’s hard to escape a feeling of redundancy creeping in after a while - was there really a pressing artistic need in 1975 for another straightahead version of ‘Body And Soul’, even if played on soprano, or the well-tried programming format of a standard, a couple of originals and a blues? Jones’ bass playing is superb throughout but the 70s style mix places him so far forward that his rumbling growl threatens to impede the flow.
Compared to contemporary recordings such as Cedar Walton and George Coleman’s ‘Eastern Rebellion’, recorded the same year with the same rhythm team, this is more an example of old hands revisiting past triumphs than an essential document of forward progression, but none the less very enjoyable for fans of the straight-ahead, and the re-issue is as well presented as we’ve come to expect from Xanadu.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Xanadu 906072
Jimmy Heath - tenor and soprano sax; Barry Harris - piano; Sam Jones - bass; Billy Higgins - drums
Jimmy Heath was approaching 50 when this session was released, with a thirty-year professional career behind him, including associations with some of the greatest names of post-war jazz, including a stint as Coltrane’s replacement in Miles’ epochal 1959 band that continues to define the sound of jazz for many.
Despite this, like many of his generation the early 70s were proving to be a pretty lean time as the preceding decade had seen audiences for the post-bop verities collapse before the onslaught of new electrified styles, leaving many of the generation who had developed the music to such a high pitch without a gig. Fortunately Heath had a long-time fan in producer Don Schlitten, who tracked him down and got him back into the studio for a series of recordings for the Xanadu label that kick-started his career back towards recognition he deserved.
This 1975 offering sees him revisiting some of his compositions from the classic era twenty years before, in the company of eminently simpatico peers of the same generation, in a relaxed workout with plenty of solo space for everyone. Heath sounds as good as ever, his full robust tone equally suited to fluent bop lines, touches of honking R&B or modal explorations, and he had developed a nice touch on soprano as well, while the rhythm section are exemplary throughout. Yet despite the excellent playing it’s hard to escape a feeling of redundancy creeping in after a while - was there really a pressing artistic need in 1975 for another straightahead version of ‘Body And Soul’, even if played on soprano, or the well-tried programming format of a standard, a couple of originals and a blues? Jones’ bass playing is superb throughout but the 70s style mix places him so far forward that his rumbling growl threatens to impede the flow.
Compared to contemporary recordings such as Cedar Walton and George Coleman’s ‘Eastern Rebellion’, recorded the same year with the same rhythm team, this is more an example of old hands revisiting past triumphs than an essential document of forward progression, but none the less very enjoyable for fans of the straight-ahead, and the re-issue is as well presented as we’ve come to expect from Xanadu.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
