Great Live Moments - Heath Brothers

April 10, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: art blakey, bud powell, clifford brown, dizzy gillespie, english toffee bar, heath brothers, horace silver, Jazz Alive, jazz family, jazz saxophonist, jimmy heath, Listening Post, Live Music, Masters, modern jazz quartet, new jersey performing arts, new jersey performing arts center, percy heath, prudential hall, sonny rollins, sweet basil, thelonious monk, tootie heath, Video, wbgo

The Heath brothers I have known are not confectioners who created an English toffee bar. They played jazz. Much sweeter than candy...

Saxophonist Jimmy Heath, drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath, and the late bassist/cellist Percy Heath were jazz family long before the Marsalis clan. Separately, the sum of their music making covers the totality of modern jazz - Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, the Modern Jazz Quartet. I could go on and on, but enough already! Together, the Heath Brothers were a cohesive jazz combo that brought their collective experience to the stage to form their own brand of brotherly jazz.

WBGO has recorded a number of Heath Brothers performances. They include a beautiful recording from New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Prudential Hall, as well as a club date at Iridium. And that's just during my seven year tenure at the station! In 1984, WBGO recorded The Heath Brothers on New Year's Eve. December 31, 1984 at Sweet Basil in New York. The pianist was Stanley Cowell.

Check out the Heath Brothers playing "Sleeves" from the WBGO Archives.
-Josh

PS While you're still here, watch this clip from Danny Sherr's award-winning video about the siblings, Brotherly Jazz.

© 2008 WBGO

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Legends of Jazz - 2007 NEA Jazz Masters

April 10, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: celebration, conversations, cool things, creators, curtis fuller, frank wess, Jazz Alive, jazz appreciation, Jazz Community, jazz master, jazz royalty, legends of jazz, music, nancy wilson, nea, pbs, pbs series, pianist, ramsey lewis, saxophonist, smithsonian, trombonist, Video

April is Jazz Appreciation Month. One of the many cool things about the Smithsonian's monthlong celebration has been online. The creators of the LEGENDS OF JAZZ PBS series put together a one-hour web special, hosted by 2007 NEA Jazz Master Ramsey Lewis, that features conversations with and music by NEA jazz royalty - pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, trombonist Curtis Fuller, singer Jimmy Scott, Basie-veteran Frank Wess, and saxophonist Phil Woods. Nancy Wilson, herself an NEA Jazz Master, talks with Ramsey Lewis about his own half-century career. Find it here.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO
Don't Mess With Mr. T

April 5, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: Birthdays, Jazz Osmosis, Video

I pity the fool who tries to play like Stanley Turrentine. His sound is so thoroughly drenched in soul. That's why I miss Mr. T, an alias of saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. Today would be Stanley's burthday. I highly encourage you to dig through some of Stanley's Blue Note records, especially the stuff with Horace Parlan's trio or Jimmy Smith. In many ways, Stanley's big sound reminds me of the soulful tenor player from Newark, Ike Quebec.

Check out this live performance of "Don't Mess With Mr. T." Fans of Marvin Gaye will recognize the music from Marvin's soundtrack to the film, Trouble Man. I love Marvin's lyrics, which are partly autobiographical - I come up hard/I come up, gettin' down/There's only three things/That's for sho'/Taxes, death and trouble...

© 2008 WBGO

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