Queens Jazz Orchestra Ensemble to pay tribute to Jimmy Heath
TIMESLEDGER | Q 42 NS.COM | JUNE 18-JUNE 24, 2021
Jimmy Heath, an American jazz saxophonist, composer,
arranger and big band leader.
Courtesy of Flushing Town Hall
time due to COVID restrictions,
we are thrilled
that this sextet of incredibly
skilled and passionate
musicians will again
grace our stage and wow
our audiences with live
jazz!”
The Queens Jazz
Orchestra Ensemble
performing at Flushing
Town Hall is comprised
of six musicians who all
had a personal connection
to Heath and are
celebrating his legacy:
Antonio Hart (leader
and saxophone); Freddie
Hendrix (trumpet);
Steve Davis (trombone);
Jeb Patton (piano); David
Wong (acoustic bass); and
Vince Ector (drums).
“The Queens Jazz
Orchestra Ensemble
contains some cutting
edge musicians! Each ensemble
member is a band
leader themselves, with
the additional, explosive
dynamite of Antonio
Hart mixing it all together,”
said Clyde Bullard,
a jazz producer in residence
at Flushing Town
Hall. “What you will be
hearing is the Big Bang
Theory incarnate!”
Bullard will moderate
a live Q&A following the
performance between
the musicians and the
virtual audience.
Born on Oct. 25, 1926,
in Philadelphia, Heath
was the second of the illustrious
Heath Brothers
to receive an NEA Jazz
Master Fellowship and
was the first Heath to
choose music as a career
path. During his storied
career, Heath (who lived
in Queens for many
years) has performed
on more than 100 record
albums, including seven
with The Heath Brothers
and 12 as a leader.
Heath has also written
more than 125 compositions,
many of which
have become jazz standards.
Heath had etched
a longstanding relationship
with Flushing
Town Hall, and a dozen
years ago they together
launched the 17-piece
big band Queens Jazz
Orchestra, a project of
Flushing Town Hall,
which had since performed
for thousands
of jazz lovers under his
direction.
In June 2020, Flushing
Town Hall hosted its
first virtual tribute to
the late master. Among
those participating were
Heath’s wife, Mona; jazz
legends Albert “Tootie”
Heath, Barry Harris,
Jimmy Owens and
Dorthaan Kirk; and
members of Queens Jazz
Orchestra, including
Hart, Wong Patton and
Douglas Purviance.
In honor of Flushing
Town Hall’s 42nd anniversary,
42 in-person
tickets are available
($15/$12 members), and
unlimited virtual tickets
($10/$7 members) for audiences
at home.
All tickets can be purchased
online at flushingtownhall.
org. Details
about the logistics and
safety requirements, including
mask wearing
and social distancing
to attend the event in
person are posted on the
website.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail
at cmohamed@schneps
media.com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
The Queens Jazz Orchestra
Ensemble will
take the stage at Flushing
Town Hall at 7 p.m.
on Friday, June 18, for
a live tribute to the late
NEA Jazz Master Jimmy
Heath, continuing to
present outstanding jazz
at its historic venue.
For the first time,
Flushing Town Hall is
welcoming a small audience
back into its theater
since the facility closed
to the public in March
2020 amid the COVID-19
outbreak. The venue will
observe COVID safety
measures that include
mask requirements and
social distancing. The
concert will be simultaneously
livestreamed
for a virtual audience at
home.
When Heath died
in January 2020 at the
age of 93, he passed the
baton to his protégé
Antonio Hart.
“Due to COVID, the
Queens Jazz Orchestra
has not been able to
perform together, but I
am delighted to bring
a smaller unit of members
of the ensemble to
Flushing Town Hall to
celebrate Master Heath,”
Hart said.
On June 18, the special
concert led by Hart will
present the core rhythm
section of the larger
Queens Jazz Orchestra,
who are writing and
performing their own
arrangements of songs
composed by Heath.
“We are excited to
host Antonio Hart and
select members of the
Queens Jazz Orchestra
at our beautiful venue,”
said Ellen Kodadek, executive
and artistic director
of Flushing Town
Hall. “While we cannot
bring our full Queens
Jazz Orchestra to Flushing
Town Hall at this
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