Jimmy Heath in 10 Tracks

The late Jimmy Heath had a crisp and deliberate sound on his tenor saxophone. His solos and double-and triple timing were fluid, seemingly effortless and never short on ideas. His soprano saxophone was insistent and his flute was divine. His compositions were melodic and sophisticated, and his arrangements were engaging, always taking the listener's short attention span into consideration. Though his name isn't generally thought of in the same breath as Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Hank Mobley and Stan Getz, Jimmy would likely have been a bigger deal had he been recording since 1954. He was exceptional. Though he had led bands and made records since the late 1940s, Jimmy's first 12-inch album wasn't recorded until 1959.

Here are 10 tracks that provide a gateway to Jimmy's enormous instrumental power and imagination as a composer (all of the following songs are originals).

Here's Jimmy's For Minors Only, with Nat Adderley (cnt), Curtis Fuller (tb), Jimmy Heath (ts), Wynton Kelly (p), Paul Chambers (b) and Albert “Tootie" Heath (d) from The Thumper (1959), his first album after his release from prison...



Here's Jimmy's A Picture of Heath, from Really Big! (1960), with Nat Adderley (cnt), Clark Terry (tp,flhrn), Tom McIntosh (tb), Dick Berg (fhr), Cannonball Adderley (as), Jimmy Heath (ts), Pat Patrick (bar), Cedar Walton (p), Percy Heath (b) and Albert “Tootie" Heath (d)...



Here's Jimmy's The Quota, from the 1961 album of the same name, with Freddie Hubbard (tp), Julius Watkins (fhr), Jimmy Heath (ts), Cedar Walton (p), Percy Heath (b) and Albert “Tootie" Heath (d)...



Here's Jimmy's Wall to Wall, from Swamp Seed (1963), with Donald Byrd (tp); Julius Watkins and Jimmy Buffington (fhr); Jimmy Heath (ts); Don Butterfield (tu); Herbie Hancock (p); Percy Heath (b) and Connie Kay (d)...



Here's Jimmy's Gingerbread Boy, from On the Trail (1964), with Jimmy Heath (ts), Wynton Kelly (p), Kenny Burrell (g), Paul Chambers (b) and Albert “Tootie" Heath (d)...



Here's Jimmy's Angel Man, from The Gap Sealer (1973), with Jimmy on flute and Kenny Barron (p,el-p), Bob Cranshaw (el-b), Albert “Tootie" Heath (d,tamb) and Mtume (cga,perc)...



Here's Jimmy's Heads Up! Feet Down!, from Love and Understanding (1973), with Curtis Fuller (tb), Jimmy Heath (ts), Stanley Cowell (el-p), Bernard Fennell (cello), Bob Cranshaw (el-b) and Billy Higgins (d,tamb)...



Here's Jimmy's C.T.A., from Picture of Heath (1975), from the album of the same name, backed by Barry Harris (p), Sam Jones (b) and Billy Higgins (d). C.T.A. stood for Connie Theresa Ang, Heath’s girlfriend at the time and was recorded first by Miles Davis in 1953...



Here's Jimmy's Basic Birks, from You've Changed (1992), recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Jimmy Heath (ts), Tony Purrone (g), Ben Brown (b) and Albert “Tootie" Heath (d)...



And here's Jimmy's Like a Son, from Turn Up the Heath (2004), with Frank Greene, Nick Marchione, Michael Philip Mossman and Terell Stafford (tp); John Mosca, Benny Powell and Slide Hampton (tb); Douglas Purviance (b-tb); Mark Gross (as,fl); Antonio Hart (as,sop,fl); Bobby LaVell and Charles Davis (ts); Jay Branford (bar); Jeb Patton (p); Peter Washington (b); Lewis Nash (d) and Jimmy Heath (arr)...



Bonus: Here's Jimmy on his first recording session, in 1947, playing baritone saxophone on Short Life, with Howard McGhee (tp), Jimmy Heath (bar), Milt Jackson (vib), Will Davis (p), Percy Heath (b) and Joe Harris (d)...