May 1997

Kate Scott and Tony Heath Sextet
Parallel Lives
Stonetool

By Patricia Myers

Kate Scott's vocal style is big-city hip, at once cool and hot. Her bebop chops on ten original arrangements are well-matched by reedsman Tony Heath, who triples on flute and alto and soprano saxes. Their prowess is especially evident on demanding charts such as "Take Five," "Footprints" and Scott's Annie Ross-style rendering of "Farmer's Market." The sextet's interplay is concisely solid, with plenty of openings for solos by guitarist Freddy Bryant and bassist Clarence Seay.