Peer Pleasure

by Scott YanowThe most unusual aspect of this CD is that Jimmy Heath, in addition to his usual tenor and soprano, also plays alto (his original instrument) on two of the six numbers. The material pays tribute to John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Ben Webster (an Ernie Wilkins original), and Dizzy Gillespie, and "Ellington's Stray Horn" is included along with a Monty Alexander original. Two songs are played by Heath with guitarist Tony Purrone, bassist Stafford James and drummer Akira Tana; pianist Larry Willis makes the group a quintet on one piece, and trumpeter Tom Williams expands the band to a sextet for the three remaining selections. The largely straight-ahead set benefits from the changing instrumentation and the fresh material, and Jimmy Heath (60 at the time) shows that he was still very much in prime form.