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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Great Live Moments - Jim Hall

April 2, 2008. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

Add new comment | Filed under: band members, ben riley, bill evans, bill frisell, compositions, duets, embodiment, guitarist jim, guitarists, harvie, jazz forum, jazz guitarist, jim hall, jim hall trio, john scofield, Listening Post, Live Music, living jazz, pat metheny, ron carter, sonny rollins, wbgo

Guitarist Jim Hall is the embodiment of what makes jazz special. First of all, there's something so absolutely honest about his music. If you need proof that Hall is the greatest living jazz guitarist, ask Pat Metheny. Or Bill Frisell. Or John Scofield. They will tell you that Jim Hall is their guy. I suspect musicians admire Jim for many of the reasons that we do. Chiefly, Hall's asset is his ability to listen to the other band members. Just imagine all those Jim Hall duets with Bill Evans, Ron Carter, or any number of guitarists, not to mention his ensemble playing with Sonny Rollins... "Down From Antigua" is one of Jim Hall's trademark compositions. As many times as I've heard this tune, it still sounds fresh.
WBGO recorded the Jim Hall Trio at The Jazz Forum, February 5, 1983.
They are:
Jim Hall, guitar
Harvie Swartz - bass
Ben Riley - drums

Listen to "Down From Antigua" from the WBGO Archives.
-Josh

© 2008 WBGO

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