Heath Gets His Cake, Even if He Can’t Eat It

The comedian Bill Cosby, hosting the opening show at the Blue Note Wednesday night, introduced the 14 members of the orchestra first before proceeding to the leader and the man of the hour: “And here he is, weighing in at 107 pounds, whether you dunk him in syrup or in honey — Jimmy Heath!”The diminutive frame of the brilliant arranger-composer-reed player, whose height is in inverse proportion to his talent (he was once nicknamed “Little Bird”), has long been a source of humor for jazz pundits.(Jon Faddis, while introducing Mr. Heath in the audience during one concert, remarked to the crowd, “He is standing up!”) Mr. Heath, who was named in 2003 as a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master, is celebrating his 80th birthday this week with a new album, “Turn Up The Heath” (Planet Arts), and a rare, week-long appearance leading a full big band.Mr. Cosby has long been one of the most visible and vocal celebrity jazz advocates, and he has long been delighted to lend his star power to musicians whom he respects. In fact, he produced Mr. Heath’s previous big band album, the 1992 “Little Man Big Band.” The two men have a lot in common apart from knowing each other since their salad days in Philadelphia: Mr. Cosby can take the simplest, most trivial thing, such as a trumpeter stating his name, and turn it into something side-splittingly funny. Likewise, Mr. Heath can take the basic blues, an overly familiar melody, or a chord change like a coat that’s already been worn to death, and dress it up to make it seem new and exciting.Any birthday — especially an 80th — is a good time to think about family, and Mr. Heath began his set Wednesday with dedications to his big brother, his daughter, a protégé who is “like a son” (the saxist Antonio Hart, playing alto with the band), and a boyhood inspiration (Jimmy Dorsey). The bluesy “Big P” was originally a feature for Percy Heath, and at the Blue Note it showcased the impressive bassist Peter Washington. Introduced on Mr. Heath’s 1960 “Really Big,””Big P” is a perfect example of how the composer can make a group move with the full power of an orchestra but with the catlike tread and economy of a six-piece hard-bop band.Mr. Heath followed with a tune inspired by his daughter, “Gemini,” most famously recorded by Cannonball Adderley, who described it on his famous 1962 live recording as having “two different feelings, a sort of schizophrenic thing.” It’s a polyrhythmic jazz waltz, opening with the melody played on three flutes, and is at once sweet and pretty and funky and groovy. Mr. Heath made it sound even more exotic by soloing on soprano saxophone, and as on many of his pieces, it wound up with a big, dramatic closer.“Like a Son” was a feature for the alto saxophonist Antonio Hart, who was one of Mr. Heath’s star students (during the 10 years he was in residence at Queens College), and took us closer to ballad time. Mr. Heath slowed down even further with “I’m Glad There Is You,” credited to Jimmy Dorsey, Mr. Heath’s first role model on the saxophone, even before Charlie Parker. Between 1959 and 1964, Mr. Heath made six classic albums for Riverside Records, and on each of them he showcased himself playing a standard love song on tenor saxophone, with the big warm tone that made him a contemporary of Dexter Gordon.He switched gears again with a wild up-tempo number, “Winter Sleeves,” one of his most frequently played originals in recent years. Based on the chords to “Autumn Leaves,” the old French chestnut is only vaguely visible through this fast-and-furious bebopper. A new composition, “Sources Say,” featured an attractive melody pivoting on a three-note phrase inspired by “watching too much television news,” and featured the baritone saxist Gary Smulyan and the trombonist Steve Davis.At this point, Mr. Cosby returned to the stage and presided over a brief birthday celebration: Mr. Heath was asked to blow out the candles on a cake, but since such things are not on his diet (he should stick to it, he looks at least 20 years younger than the calendar says he is), he was also presented with a plate of lox with a candle in it. (A drawing was held, and a delighted Japanese family was presented with the chocolate cake.) For a finale, a guest pianist, Monty Alexander, joined the band (replacing Jeb Patton) for Kenny Dorham’s “Una Mas.” This latin blues was exciting enough as originally played by the composer’s small group, but in Mr. Heath’s big band incarnation it became something even more special, with its “Sidewinder”-like countermelody played with trombones in close harmony with Mr. Smulyan’s baritone. The tune and the evening climaxed with what Mr. Heath called a “little drama from the drummer,” Lewis Nash. Drama indeed.***The stage at Birdland Saturday evening looked like a beauty pageant, with four 20-something lovelies singing, yet the message of the revue, “Her Song,” was to show that women have contributed much more than pretty faces and pretty voices to American music.Subtitled “A Salute to Women Songwriters,” “Her Song” concentrates on post-1960 pop; not a lot of jazz, country, or even Broadway (aside from Dorothy Fields) is included. (Surprisingly, Carolyn Leigh, Mary Lou Williams, and Peggy Lee were not mentioned.) This fast-moving 75-minute presentation, put together by Brenda and Barry Levitt (which continues in an openended run on weekends at 5:30 p.m.) makes its point early on and places the history of female songwriters in a very entertaining context.Of the quartet of young ladies — Kelly McCormick, Gabrielle Lee (who sings most of the blues), Emma Zaks (who could play Reese Witherspoon’s part in the Broadway version of “Legally Blonde”), and Trisha Rapier — the latter is the one I’d most like to see in her own one-woman show; her “La Vie En Rose” was, for me, a highlight. The story of Katherine Lee Bates, who wrote “America the Beautiful” in 1893, was particularly touching in that she chose to celebrate this country at a time when she and all women were denied fundamental human rights, including the right to vote.It’s the only time I ever felt like standing up and saluting the flag — at Birdland, that is.

Heath Gets His Cake, Even if He Can’t Eat It

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