JIMMY HEATH BIG BAND

BRYANT PARK / JUNE 14

Known as “Little Bird,” saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator Jimmy Heath (1926-2020) – the oldest of the famed Heath Brothers, Percy and Tootie and father of percussionist/producer Mtume – was a dynamic and durable post-bop player, with a big tenor sax sound. His composition “Gingerbread Boy” was a minor standard in the ’60s. Jazzmobile, an organization Jimmy was active in, presents a 17-piece big band devoted to Jimmy’s compositions and arrangements, led by Jimmy’s protege, alto saxophonist Antonio Hart, and featuring trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, trombonist Douglas Purviance and drummer Dennis Mackrel. Jimmy’s “Gingerbread Boy” is resurrected, and there will be new arrangements of Bird’s “Yardbird Suites” and another Jimmy original, “Turn Up the Heath,” a song as bright as Jimmy’s big smile. E.H.