Jimmy Heath

April 25 - May 2, 1 9 9 6

***1/2 Jimmy Heath

YOU OR ME

(Steeplechase)

Lucidity and symmetry are the beauties most prominent in Jimmy Heath's tenor-saxophone playing. His tone is limpid and serene, even at sassy up-tempos, like his opening blues "The Quota." His compositions have structure and balance, as on the sultry samba "Rio Dawn." His statements, all on tenor here (though he played plenty of purling soprano at Scullers recently when in town), invariably speak with poise and well-reasoned logic yet show undersides of whimsy, humor, and passion. He is, indeed, one of the most endearing and persuasive jazz masters.

Heath and his guitarist of some 20 years, Tony Purrone, have nurtured a approach to melody that exceeds the engaging and borders on the awe-inspiring. Check the stirring unisons on the title track. They treat a neglected Ellington ballad, "All Too Soon," with due respect but make it a lot gutsier than the usual prissy treatments. Albert "Tootie" Heath (another kid brother of bassist Percy of the Philadelphia Heaths) plays drums with a suaveness that surpasses mere appreciation.

-- Fred Bouchard