Track Listing

1. Big "P"
2. Old Fashioned Fun
3. Mona's Mood
4. Dat Dere
5. Nails
6. On Green Dolphin Street
7. My Ideal
8. Picture of Heath
9. Nails [Take 1][#][*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69306 in Music
• Brand: Riverside
• Released on: 2007-06-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
While Producer Orrin Keepnews' Riverside label is best known for a few dominant artists like Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans, it was one of the most adventurous of the great New York independent labels of the 1950s and 1960s, often breaking with the small combo format. Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath's tentet from 1960 is a superb example, a band combining big band drive with small group spontaneity. Armed with Heath's well-crafted, imaginative compositions, as well as Bobby Timmons' soul jazz anthem "Dat Dere" and the standard "On Green Dolphin Street," the band swings tremendously. There's a special family chemistry as well, with Heath joined by his brothers Percy on bass and Albert on drums, and altoist Cannonball Adderley and brother Nat sharing the solo space. The inspiration shows in Jimmy Heath's own playing, whether he's working through the complex harmonies of "Mona's Mood" or ricocheting off the rhythms of "Nails." --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

Superb!
I may not be an old hack who knows his jazz inside and out, but I know what I like - and I definitely like this. The editorial reviewer hit the nail on the head when he said it had big band drive and small group spontaneity. This provides the best of both worlds, and the material and performance are excellent.

Really Big! is part of the new jazz remaster series "Keepnews Collection". Orrin Keepnews produced for the Riverside and Milestone labels in the late '50s and the '60s, and he employed engineers who produced beautiful recordings. Any audiophile knows that Riverside's recordings are some of the best ever put to tape, and this remaster series does not disappoint. The Keepnews Collection is jazz and audiophile nirvana.

Outstanding Outing For Heath
Tenor saxophonist/composer Jimmy Heath has had many outstanding recordings during his long career, but I think "Really Big!" is exactly what the title says, it's got everything that's great about Heath rolled up into one album. It shows his big band arranging and composing chops in addition to his great saxophone playing, which to the this day is underrated I think. Heath assembled a great band for this record:

Clark Terry - trumpet
Nat Adderley - cornet
Cannonball Adderely - alto saxophone
Pat Patrick - baritone saxophone
Dick Berg - french horn
Tom McIntosh - trombone
Tommy Flanagan or Cedar Walton - piano
Percy Heath - bass
Albert "Tootie" Heath - drums

I consider this recording to be an essential jazz recording. Anyone interested in big band or hearing a band playing in complete harmony, then pick up this album. Highly recommended.

Love Jimmy
Jimmy Heath has been a favorite of mine every since I saw him in person. He puts on a great show, and this CD definitely lived up to everything I Like about him. He is tops, and so is this CD.