Jimmy Heath - Little Man, Big Band

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:14
Size: 120,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:06)  1. Trane Connections
(4:25)  2. Two Friends
(7:48)  3. The Voice of the Saxophone
(6:58)  4. Forever Sonny
(7:03)  5. CTA
(7:19)  6. Ellington's Stray Horn
(5:08)  7. Gingerbread Boy
(8:23)  8. Without You, No Me

Bill Cosby produced Little Man Big Band to give journeyman composer and saxophonist Jimmy Heath a larger palette for his work. Most known for his work with small ensembles, especially the Heath Brothers with siblings Percy Heath on bass and Tootie Heath on drums, Jimmy Heath brings to life his compositions, including his greatest hits "CTA" and "Gingerbread Boy," with blaring, upper register trumpets, punchy trombone countermelodies and swirling saxophone ensembles. He is an able practitioner of big band orchestration, concentrating largely on using the band to frame soloists, most prominently himself. The concerto-like pieces "The Voice of the Saxophone" and "Ellington's Stray Horn" are the most adventurous structurally. 

The band made up mostly of members of American Jazz Orchestra is stocked with ace sessionmen who execute the charts with aplomb. That's evident on the twisting melodic variations on the opener and "Gingerbread Boy." While Heath is the featured soloist, Roland Hanna gets a chance to show both as a soloist and as an accompanist why he was in a class with Basie and Ellington as a big band pianist. Guitarist Tony Purrone, a regular with the Heath Brothers, and most of the trumpet section provide complementary solo voices. ~ David Dupont   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/little-man-big-band-mw0000616104

Little Man, Big Band

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