| Triple Threat | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1962 | |||
| Recorded | January 4 & 7, 1962 New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 37:09 | |||
| Label | Riverside RLP 400 | |||
| Jimmy Heath chronology | ||||
| ||||
Triple Threat is the fourth album by saxophonist Jimmy Heath featuring performances recorded in 1962 originally released on the Riverside label. [1]
Triple Threat was a follow-up of Heath's 1961 album The Quota and used the same band. [2] [3] The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings considers the lineup, which features Heath's brothers Percy and Albert, a "dry-run" for their later Heath Brothers records. [4] The album was recorded over two sessions in January 1962. Freddie Hubbard and Julius Watkins were not present for the second session when "The More I See You" was recorded. [5]
The song "Gemini" was written for Heath's daughter, Roslyn, whose star sign it was. [2]
The album title was an allusion to Heath's own status as a "triple threat": musician, arranger and composer. [6] In the album liner notes, Ira Gitler described Heath in the following way:
The triple threat in football must pass, punt, and run on a high level. Musically, Jimmy Heath approximates this by his composing, arranging and playing, all of which are ably and amply demonstrated here. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [8] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |  [4] |
Cannonball Adderley recorded his own version of "Gemini" only 10 days after Heath's recording. [6] Shortly beforeTriple Threat was released in 1962, Adderley released a record featuring his version which somewhat overshadowed Heath's recording. [9]
Scott Yanow of Allmusic says, "The arrangements of Heath uplift the straightahead music and make each selection seem a bit special". [8] Billboard described the album as one of Heath's best sessions, praising his playing and the "directness, individuality and strength" of the compositions. [10]
In his autobiography, Heath, a Philadelphian, recalls his pride that he was gaining recognition in his hometown upon reading a positive review of the album in the Philadelphia Daily News . [2]
All compositions by Jimmy Heath except as indicated
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb, and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a distinctive sound.
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launching his solo career. Golson is known for co-founding and co-leading The Jazztet with trumpeter Art Farmer in 1959. From the late 1960s through the 1970s Golson was in demand as an arranger for film and television and thus was less active as a performer, but he and Farmer re-formed the Jazztet in 1982.
Percy Heath was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet throughout their long history and also worked with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Wes Montgomery, and Thelonious Monk.
James Edward Heath, nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath.
Robert Henry Timmons was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was a sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for two periods, between which he was part of Cannonball Adderley's band. Several of Timmons' compositions written when part of these bands – including "Moanin'", "Dat Dere", and "This Here" – enjoyed commercial success and brought him more attention. In the early and mid-1960s he led a series of piano trios that toured and recorded extensively.
Julius Watkins was an American jazz musician who played French horn. Described by AllMusic as "virtually the father of the jazz French horn", Watkins won the Down Beat critics poll in 1960 and 1961 for Miscellaneous Instrument.
Know What I Mean? is a 1962 album by jazz musician Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, accompanied by Bill Evans and the rhythm section of the Modern Jazz Quartet. It was released on Riverside label as RLP-433.
Interplay is a 1963 album by jazz musician Bill Evans. It was recorded in July 1962 in New York City for Riverside Records. The Interplay Sessions is a 1982 Milestone album that includes the entirety of this album, and tracks recorded for Riverside on August 21 and 22 of the same year with a different lineup . The Interplay Sessions peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Jazz Albums charts in 1983. The CD reissue Interplay adds another take of "I'll Never Smile Again" as a bonus track. At the Grammy Awards of 1984, Orrin Keepnews won the Grammy Award for Best Album Notes for the reissue.
Landmark Records was an American jazz record company and label founded in 1985 by Orrin Keepnews. Landmark's releases included music by Donald Byrd, Jack DeJohnette, Jimmy Heath, Vincent Herring, Bobby Hutcherson, Mulgrew Miller, Buddy Montgomery, and reissues of Cannonball Adderley.
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet at the Lighthouse is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley released on the Riverside label featuring a performance by Adderley with Nat Adderley, Victor Feldman, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes.
The Cannonball Adderley Sextet in New York is a live album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded at the Village Vanguard and released on the Riverside label featuring performances by Adderley with Nat Adderley, Yusef Lateef, Joe Zawinul, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes.
Work Song is an album by jazz cornetist Nat Adderley, recorded in January 1960 and released on the Riverside label. It features Adderley with Bobby Timmons, Wes Montgomery, Sam Jones, Percy Heath, Keter Betts and Louis Hayes in various combinations from a trio to a sextet, with the unusual sound of pizzicato cello to the fore on some tracks.
A Sure Thing is an album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell with orchestra recorded in 1962 and released on the Riverside label.
MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded in New York City, Los Angeles and at the Montreux Jazz Festival with guest artists including Bobby McFerrin, Take 6, Phil Woods, Wynton Marsalis, Illinois Jacquet, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Branford Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Freddie Hubbard and Nino Tempo and released on the Atlantic label.
Uhuru Afrika is an album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Roulette label. The album features lyrics and liner notes by the poet Langston Hughes and was banned in South Africa in 1964, at the same time as was Lena Horne's Here's Lena Now!, with copies of the albums being seized in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The Soul Society is the debut album by bassist and cellist Sam Jones featuring performances recorded in early 1960 and originally released on the Riverside label.
The Thumper is the debut album by saxophonist Jimmy Heath featuring performances recorded in 1959 originally released on the Riverside label.
Really Big! is the second album by saxophonist Jimmy Heath featuring big band performances recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Riverside label.
The Quota is the third album by saxophonist Jimmy Heath featuring performances recorded in 1961 originally released on the Riverside label.
Swamp Seed is the fifth album by the saxophonist Jimmy Heath of performances recorded in 1963, originally released on the Riverside label.
