Jimmy Heath on big bands

Now, a Jazz Moment...

MUSIC: "CTA" CD: Little Man Big Band, Verve 314 513 956-2 (cut 5)

Jimmy Heath: The problem is transportation. That's the only reason we don't have big bands... getting there.

NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath points to one of the reasons we have so few big bands left in jazz. In this age of the airplane, it's cost prohibitive to travel with a large ensemble. Regardless, heath is still one of the form's greatest proponents.

Jimmy Heath: The big band is jazz music's symphony orchestra. We can take soloists. We can have duos, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, septets and the whole works from a big band. But the opposite is kinda impossible. So when we get 16 people, and you got four trombones, four trumpets, five reeds and a rhythm section, heaven!

MUSIC: same - up and fades under

This Jazz Moment with saxophonist and bandleader Jimmy Heath was produced by the National Endowment for the Arts.