Celebrating Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Jazz

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The City of Philadelphia is rich in jazz history and home to many of the jazz greats. Jazz at Lincoln Center celebrates Philly's contributions to the art form on March 10 and 11, 2006 at 8:00pm in Rose Theater with Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Jazz. Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2005-06 season is entitled Jazz From Coast to Coast, where the major jazz cities are spotlighted. This great celebration of Philadelphia includes its hometown heroes: Jimmy Heath (saxophone), Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums), Joey DeFrancesco (Hammond B-3 organ), Pat Martino (guitar), Duane Eubanks (trumpet), and other special guests. The show will focus on major jazz artists and organists who represent the Philadelphia jazz sound including Lee Morgan, Bobby Durham, Mickey Roker, Benny Golson and the late, great Jimmy Smith. Come hear the classic jazz music of the Blue Note Records years of the 1950s and 1960s.

Philadelphia was one of the most important centers for jazz in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The city was home to more jazz musicians than perhaps any city, except New York. Philadelphian John Coltrane played with both Jimmy Heath's and Jimmy Smiths' bands, and later hired local talents Jimmy Garrison and McCoy Tyner for his own classic quartet. East Coast jazz musicians in the mid-1950s created a roots-oriented jazz - called hard bop - that incorporated significant elements from blues and black gospel music. Philadelphia was a main center for hard bop, home to crucial performers including (in addition to the above mentioned) Clifford Brown, John Coltrane, Philly Joe Jones, Hank Mobley, Jimmy Heath, and McCoy Tyner.

Starting in Philadelphia, the Heath Brothers have been contributing mightily to the language of jazz since the 1940s. Jimmy Heath, contemplating on the family legacy, remarked "We've got more than 150 years of experience and more than 900 recordings. We've all played with the jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, J.J. Johnson, Miles and the Modern Jazz Quartet; that seems to make us the elders of the surviving families of jazz."

Jimmy HeathLong recognized as a brilliant instrumentalist and a magnificent composer and arranger, Jimmy Heath is middle brother of the legendary Heath Brothers (the late Percy Heath/bass and Tootie Heath/drums). Saxophonist Jimmy is the father of musician Mtume. One of Mr. Heath's earliest bands (1947-1948) in Philadelphia included John Coltrane, Benny Golson and Ray Bryant. Charlie Parker and Max Roach sat in too. During his career, Jimmy has performed on more than 100 record albums including seven with The Heath Brothers and twelve as a leader. For eleven years, he was a Professor of Music at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. He continues an extensive performance schedule and conducts workshops and clinics throughout the United States, Europe and Canada. As Dizzy Gillespie once proclaimed, "All I can say is, if you know Jimmy Heath, you know Bop." And fellow Philadelphian John Coltrane said, "Besides being a wonderful saxophonist, he (Jimmy) understood a lot about musical construction. We were very much alike in our feeling, phrasing and a whole lot of other ways. Our musical appetites were the same."

Albert "Tootie" HeathBorn 1935, Philadelphia, Albert "Tootie" Heath today resides in Southern California. He is the youngest of the three musical Heath brothers. The first of Tootie's more than 600 recordings was John Coltrane's first as a leader (Coltrane on Prestige). Tootie was the last drummer for the Modern Jazz Quartet, and has been a member of bands led by Kenny Drew, Art Farmer/Benny Golson, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, Tommy Flanagan Trio, J.J. Johnson, Yusef Lateef, Bobbie Timmons, Ben Webster and Lester Young. He has been a faculty member at the Stanford University Jazz Workshop since 1986, and is an artist-in-residence at many universities. He is also the recipient in 2003 of Yale University's Duke Ellington Fellowship Medal. He was featured in the 2005 documentary film "Between a Smile and a Tear" by Niels Lan Doky, about the fabled Montmartre jazz club in Copenhagen, where Tootie was the house drummer during the 1960s. Tootie currently performs worldwide with the Heath Brothers band, and is the leader of The Whole Drum Truth, an all-percussion ensemble of legendary jazz drummers.

Joey DeFrancescoBy the time Joey DeFrancesco was 17, he rocked the jazz world with his debut, All of Me, on Columbia. Suddenly the Hammond B-3, which had been relegated to the sidelines for years, enjoyed a revitalization of popularity. Even though he never stopped playing and touring, the late master Jimmy Smith also got swept up in the resurgence of interest. Today, DeFrancesco says there was always love and respect between the two. "We'd play together, do stuff like jam on one organ. It was a dream to play with him." DeFrancesco felt that Smith's last few albums didn't represent what the B-3 bomber could do. So, he put together a strong band, developed a set list and brought Smith into the studio to record Legacy. DeFrancesco says, "There was a lot of love involved. After the first night, Jimmy came up to me and gave me a big hug. That's what makes this album so special." Smith joked, "There's me and then there's Joey. I'm the robber and he's the sheriff." As album liner note writer Pete Fallico points out: "With this recording Joey has not only kept the fire of jazz organ burning, but also solidified the legacy of this musical art form, embracing the truth (Jimmy Smith) and personally embellishing upon it with his own distinct voice, character and musical genius." Both Mr. DeFrancesco and the late, great Mr. Smith hail from Philadelphia.

Pat MartinoBorn Pat Azzara in Philadelphia in 1944, he was first exposed to jazz through his father, who sang in local clubs and played guitar. He took Pat to all the city's hot-spots to hear and meet Wes Montgomery and other musical giants. He began playing guitar when he was twelve years old. During his visits to his music teacher, young guitarist Martino often ran into another gifted student, John Coltrane, who would treat the youngster to hot chocolate as they talked about music. Mr. Martino became actively involved with the early rock scene in Philadelphia, alongside Bobby Rydell, Chubby Checker and Bobby Darin. His first road gig was with jazz organist Charles Earland, a high school friend. Mr. Martino was signed as a leader to Prestige Records when he was 20 years old. In 1976, he had surgery for symptoms of an aneurysm. After his surgery, he miraculously resumed his career in 1987, having to relearn just about everything. Today, Mr. Martino lives in Philadelphia and is on the adjunct faculty at the University of the Arts.

Duane EubanksBorn into a gifted musical family, Duane Eubanks is brother to Robin (trombone) and Kevin (guitar). His uncle is legendary pianist Ray Bryant. Along with Duane's mother, Vera, who plays piano, they all contributed to his musical education. The Philadelphia native played trumpet for the first time at age 11, but didn't consider a career in music until his college years. He joined the University of Maryland's jazz band, which offered him opportunities to play with jazz luminaries including Stanley Turrentine, Shirley Scott, Charles Fambrough, and Clark Terry. Mr. Eubanks teaches at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, tours with Dave Holland's Grammy winning big band, as well as Mulgrew Miller's band, Wingspan. Mr. Eubanks is a busy sideman and bandleader.

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