JAZZ / DIRK SUTRO : Heath Establishes a Name for Himself

In the late ‘40s, his Charlie Parker-like alto saxophone lines earned him the nickname “Little Bird.” But Jimmy Heath has made his own name playing with numerous jazz greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Art Farmer, Billy Taylor and, of course, his brothers Percy and “Tootie.”

Is it a no-no for people to call him “Little Bird” now?

“They won’t get in trouble,” Heath said. “But very few call me that anymore.”

That’s understandable. Heath, who plays Elario’s Wednesday through Sunday, through Aug. 20, has stretched his talents considerably since his early years. He splits his time composing, playing, recording and heading the Jazz Department at Queens College in New York.

Since the early days, he’s expanded his repertoire beyond alto to include tenor, soprano and flute. His writing covers a range of styles.

For example, he recently adapted John Coltrane’s “Naima” for the Kronos String Quartet. He’s also written music for the college’s full symphony orchestra, as well as the jazz ensemble he directs.

Ahmad Jamal, Hank Jones and James Moody are among the jazz musicians who have recently recorded Heath’s compositions. In June, Heath played with San Diegan Moody at a Charlie Parker festival in Paris.

“We had champagne with Madame Mitterrand,” he said, adding that such high-level schmoozing might also be possible in the United States because “Lionel Hampton is friends with Barbara Bush.”

Heath’s next album will be released by a Japanese label, and distributed only in Japan. Right now, he has no contract with Landmark, the label that released his most recent American album.

Featured with Heath at Elario’s will be former San Diego pianist Rob Schneiderman, now living in New York. The two have only played together only twice, so the combination should provide some fresh explorations.

Denver pianist Ellyn Rucker jokes that she’s at “summer music and fitness” camp, spending a few weeks in Mission Beach while she helps good friends Clyde and Linda Jenkins launch their new Beach House Restaurant.

Rucker met Clyde at Diego’s Loft when she was here last January. Shortly before his restaurant’s June 28 opening, he asked her to spend the summer as the house pianist.

Every Tuesday through Saturday night, she’s in the tiny bar overlooking the ocean, playing and singing standards that showcase her brandy-smooth voice and lyrical piano improvisations.

The late Bill Evans had a significant influence on her piano work, she says.

“He’s an absolute harmonic genius, for my taste and ears. Bill’s changes were the best. He used very close harmony, yet he never really embellished a tune. And the man could swing with any rhythm section.”

Rucker raised two children in Colorado before stepping up the pace of her career in recent years. A turning point came in 1986 when she was invited to play the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague, Holland, which attracts about 40,000 European jazz fans for three days of music.

Her performance went over well, and she was invited back in 1987 and 1988.

To date, Rucker has two albums out on Denver-based Capri Records, the most recent being “This Heart of Mine,” on which she is backed by bassist Red Mitchell and drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith. Copies of the album are available at her performances.

Nigerian bandleader and sax player Fela, a founder of Afro-Beat music, has spoken out against oppression in his country for many years. As a result, he’s been harassed by the government and even spent time in jail on the charge that he smuggled silver, though he had declared the coins at customs. On Sunday he will play an outdoor show in San Diego with his 35-piece ensemble on the football field at the Jackie Robinson YMCA, near Imperial Avenue and Interstate 805, from noon to 5. The Latin jazz band Azymuth will open.

Just when things looked bleak for jazz at Diego’s Loft in Pacific Beach, Bob and Gretchen Geib have stepped into the picture to subsidize jazz at the club at least once a week. If attendance is low, they will pay the difference between the take at the door and the amount due to the musicians. Next on the Loft’s lineup: guitarist Peter Sprague with vocalist Kevyn Lettau, this Friday and Saturday night. On Sunday at 8:30 p.m., San Diego flugelhorn and trumpet player Bruce Cameron, who has been inactive, makes a comeback appearance in a band called Algo Caliente. Geib hopes to present a piano symposium in early September.

RIFFS: Keyboardist Keiko Matsui, whose music is a favorite of contemporary jazz stations, plays Fashion Valley Center’s Sunday afternoon concert series from 1 to 3, sponsored by KIFM (98.1). . . . Saxophonist Spike Robinson, in town to play Diego’s Loft last weekend, showed up to blow a couple of tunes at The Beach House next to his friend, pianist Ellyn Rucker. . . . Sunday blues jams are a hot ticket at Winston’s in Ocean Beach. A young guitarist named Willie J. from Corpus Christi, Texas, tore the place up two weeks ago. . . . Azymuth appears Saturday at the Centro Cultural in Tijuana. . . . Fattburger plays the Catamaran’s Cannibal Bar on Aug. 16, presented by KSWV-FM (102.9).