LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

The last of tenor saxophonist/composer/arranger Jimmy Heath's six albums for Riverside, On the Trail presents him in the all-star company of pianist Wynton Kelly, guitarist Kenny Burrell, bassist Paul Chambers, and younger brother Albert "Tootie" Heath on drums. Jimmy's primary role here, Dan Morgenstern observes in the liner notes, "is that of a soloist of uncommon warmth and fluency, but his arranger's sense of balance and proportion also makes itself felt." Highlights of this Orrin Keepnews-produced session include the saxophonist's own "Gingerbread Boy" (a minor blues that soon became a staple of the Miles Davis repertoire) and a distinctively loping arrangement of "On the Trail" from Ferde Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite.
Track listing:On the Trail, Cloak and Dagger, Vanity, All the Things You Are, Gingerbread Boy, I Should Care, Project S
with Wynton Kelly, Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers, Albert "Tootie" Heath