Saxophonist Jimmy Heath exerted a crucial presence in the development of bebop in the '40s—playing with trumpeters Howard McGhee and Dizzy Gillespie—and he remained a vital figure in modern jazz as a performer, composer, arranger and educator until his death in 2020. In the '50s, he composed standards like “For Minors Only” and “Cta”, and as the decade ended he emerged as a bandleader at Riverside Records. He thrived in small band settings, but his love for arranging led him to put together several dynamic big bands. Heath continued to perform until his passing, creating the material that the stunning posthumous album Love Letter would comprise.