JAZZ REVIEW : Jimmy Heath Quartet at El Camino College

Though it was not to be expected that Jimmy Heath’s Quartet would fill the spacious Marsee Hall at El Camino College Thursday evening, what could be anticipated was a program of music diversified enough to sustain the interest and reaffirm the reputation of the 63-year-old tenor saxophonist.

With them were his brother Tootie on drums, Ben Brown on bass and guitarist Tony Purrone, who for 12 years has been a virtual adopted brother of the musical Heath family.

Heath’s warm tone and personal vibrato placed him in a middle ground, post-Dexter Gordon but pre-John Coltrane. He brought buoyancy and spirit to “On the Trail,” “Hi Fly” and his own composition “Sassy Samba” (written 10 years ago and dedicated to Sarah Vaughan).

Variety was assured through Heath’s occasional use of flute or soprano sax (the latter most effectively on “Round Midnight”), and by the always remarkable facility of Purrone, one of the most underrated guitarists on the mainstream-modern front.

Ben Brown played a hand-held electric bass that was almost all neck and no body, producing a heavy, thudding sound, though his ideas at times transcended the instrument’s built-in handicap. He and everyone else reached a zenith of excitement on the Sonny Red tune “Bluesville.”

Tootie Heath, always a propulsive and sensitive drummer, displayed some dazzling brushwork on “Heart House.”

Jimmy Heath, now regularly active as a teacher and clinician, conducted a workshop for El Camino earlier in the day. The concert offered proof of the eloquence with which he can still practice what he preaches.