Saxophonist Jimmy Heath Celebrates 86th Birthday at Blue Note, 10/23-28

Saxophonist Jimmy Heath first appeared at the Blue Note in 1984 and has become a regular throughout the club's 31 year history. He has also celebrated three birthdays at the club for his 70th, 80th and 85th birthdays. Join us as we celebrate Jimmy's 86th birthday with his stellar big band featuring Antonio Hart (alto sax and flute), Sharel Cassity (alto sax and flute),Char Les Davis (tenor sax), Andres Boiarsky (tenor sax and flute), Gary Smulyan (baritone sax), Frank Greene (trumpet), Greg Gisbert (trumpet), Freddie Hendrix (trumpet), Diego Urcola (trumpet), Steve Davis (trombone), Jason Jackson (trombone), John Mosca(trombone), Douglas Purviance (bass trombone), Jeb Patton (piano), David Wong (bass), and Lewis Nash (drums).

Jimmy Heath was born on October 25, 1926 and has long been recognized as a brilliant instrumentalist and a magnificent composer and arranger. The middle brother of the legendary Heath Brothers (bassist Percy and drummer Tootie), he has performed with nearly all the jazz greats of the last 50 years, from Howard McGhee, Dizzy Gillespie, and Mi Les Davis to Wynton Marsalis. Heath's career got off to an early start – in 1948 at the age of 21, he performed in the First International Jazz Festival in Paris with McGhee, sharing the stage with Coleman Hawkins, Slam Stewart, and Erroll Garner. One of his earliest big bands (1947-1948) in Philadelphia included John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Specs Wright, Cal Massey, Johnny Coles, Ray Bryant, and Nelson Boyd. Charlie Parker and Max Roach even sat in on one occasion.

During his career, Heath has performed on more than 100 albums, including seven with the Heath Brothers and 12 as a leader. He has also written more than 125 compositions, many of which have become jazz standards and have been recorded by other artists, including Art Farmer, Cannonball Adderley, Clark Terry, Chet Baker, Mi Les Davis, James Moody, Milt Jackson, Ahmad Jamal, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, J.J. Johnson, and Dexter Gordon. Heath has also composed extended works – seven suites and two string quartets – and he premiered his first symphonic work, "Three Ears", in 1988 at Queens College (CUNY) with Maurice Peress conducting.

When: Tuesday – Sunday, October 23 – 28, 8pm & 10:30pm

Where: The Blue Note, 131 West 3rd Street, New York, NY 10012

Tickets: $35 table seats, $20 at bar

Club Policies: Doors open at 6pm nightly. Reservations highly recommended – available online or by calling the club at (212) 475-8592. Reservations held no later than 30 minutes prior to showtime. Seating is first come, first served. We DO seat incomplete parties. American Express® Preferred Seating available at www.bluenotejazz.com. Full dinner menu available and full bar with all premier liquors, domestic, and international beer available nightly. There is a $5 food/drink minimum per person, per set. No reservations are accepted for the bar – it is only available at the door, the night of the show.