Jimmy Heath
Encyclopedia
James Edward Heath nicknamed Little Bird, is an American jazz
saxophonist, composer
and arranger
. He is the brother of bassist
Percy Heath
and drummer
Albert Heath.
on his work for Howard McGhee
and Dizzy Gillespie
in the late 1940s, he earned the nickname "Little Bird" (Parker's nickname was Bird) and he switched to tenor sax.
He briefly joined Miles Davis
's group in 1959, replacing John Coltrane
, and also worked with Kenny Dorham
and Gil Evans
. He recorded extensively as leader and sideman. During the 1960s, he frequently worked with Milt Jackson
and Art Farmer
.
In 1975, he and his brothers formed the Heath Brothers
, also featuring pianist Stanley Cowell
.
Heath composed most of the 1956 Chet Baker
and Art Pepper
album Playboys
.
In the 1980s, he joined the faculty of the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in the City University of New York. With the rank of Professor, he led the creation of the Jazz Program at Queens College and attracted prominent musicians such as Donald Byrd
to the campus. He also served on the Board of the Louis Armstrong Archives on campus, and the restoration and management of the Louis and Lucille Armstrong Residence in Corona, Queens
, near his own home. In addition to teaching at Queens College for over twenty years, he has also taught at Jazzmobile
. Heath was a recipient of the 2003 NEA Jazz Masters Award
. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Human Letters.
Heath is the father of R&B songwriter/musician James Mtume
.
With Continuum
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
. He is the brother of bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Percy Heath
Percy Heath
Percy Heath was an American jazz bassist, brother to tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975...
and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Albert Heath.
Biography
Jimmy originally played alto saxophone but after the influence of Charlie ParkerCharlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
on his work for Howard McGhee
Howard McGhee
Howard McGhee was one of the very first bebop jazz trumpeters, together with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for lightning-fast fingers and very high notes...
and Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
in the late 1940s, he earned the nickname "Little Bird" (Parker's nickname was Bird) and he switched to tenor sax.
He briefly joined Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
's group in 1959, replacing John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
, and also worked with Kenny Dorham
Kenny Dorham
McKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did...
and Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
. He recorded extensively as leader and sideman. During the 1960s, he frequently worked with Milt Jackson
Milt Jackson
Milton "Bags" Jackson was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms...
and Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
.
In 1975, he and his brothers formed the Heath Brothers
Heath Brothers
The Heath Brothers was an American jazz group, formed in 1975 by the brothers Jimmy , Percy , and Albert "Tootie" Heath ; and pianist Stanley Cowell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tony Purrone and Jimmy's son Mtume joined the group later...
, also featuring pianist Stanley Cowell
Stanley Cowell
Stanley Cowell is an American jazz pianist and founder of the Strata-East Records label. He played with Roland Kirk while studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and later with Marion Brown, Max Roach, Bobby Hutcherson, Clifford Jordan, Harold Land, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz...
.
Heath composed most of the 1956 Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
and Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
album Playboys
Playboys (1956 album)
Playboys is a 1956 jazz album featuring trumpeter Chet Baker and saxophonist Art Pepper. The album was the third collaboration between Pepper and Baker, following the successes of The Route and Chet Baker Big Band...
.
In the 1980s, he joined the faculty of the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in the City University of New York. With the rank of Professor, he led the creation of the Jazz Program at Queens College and attracted prominent musicians such as Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
to the campus. He also served on the Board of the Louis Armstrong Archives on campus, and the restoration and management of the Louis and Lucille Armstrong Residence in Corona, Queens
Corona, Queens
Corona is a densely-populated neighborhood in the former Township of Newtown in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States...
, near his own home. In addition to teaching at Queens College for over twenty years, he has also taught at Jazzmobile
Jazzmobile
Jazzmobile, Inc. is based in New York, and was founded in 1964 by Daphne Arnstein, an arts patron and founder of the Harlem Cultural Council and Dr. William "Billy" Taylor. It is a multifaceted, outreach organization committed to bringing "America's Classical Music"—Jazz—to the largest possible...
. Heath was a recipient of the 2003 NEA Jazz Masters Award
NEA Jazz Masters
The National Endowment for the Arts , every year honors up to seven jazz musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians...
. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Human Letters.
Heath is the father of R&B songwriter/musician James Mtume
James Mtume
James Mtume is a jazz and R&B musician and a radio personality. Mtume's group is perhaps best known for their 1983 R&B hit song "Juicy Fruit". The song was sampled by The Notorious B.I.G. in his song "Juicy"...
.
As leader
- 1959: The Thumper (Riverside RecordsRiverside RecordsRiverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) - 1959: Nice People (Original Jazz ClassicsOriginal Jazz ClassicsOriginal Jazz Classics was started in 1983 as an imprint of Fantasy Records. Under this name facsimiles of original editions of jazz LPs have been reissued on CD and formerly on LP and cassette also. The LPs were originally released on Riverside, Prestige and other labels that had been purchased...
) - 1960: Really Big! (Riverside RecordsRiverside RecordsRiverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) - 1961: The Quota (Riverside RecordsRiverside RecordsRiverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) - 1962: Triple Threat (Riverside RecordsRiverside RecordsRiverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) - 1963: Fast Company (Milestone RecordsMilestone RecordsMilestone Records is a United States based jazz record label, founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New York City. The company was incorporated into Fantasy Records in 1972, since then it has been used for reissues as well as for new recordings....
) - 1963: Swamp Seed (Riverside RecordsRiverside RecordsRiverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) - 1964: On the Trail (Riverside RecordsRiverside RecordsRiverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) - 1972: The Gap Sealer (Cobblestone RecordsCobblestone RecordsCobblestone Records was an American jazz record label.Cobblestone had two successive incarnations. The early one was in 1968-69 as a singles label, subsidiary of Buddah Records...
) - 1972: Jimmy (Muse RecordsMuse RecordsMuse Records was an American record label which released jazz and blues music.Muse was founded in the early 1970s by Joe Fields, who had previously worked as an executive for Prestige Records in the 1960s...
) - 1973: Love and Understanding (Xanadu RecordsXanadu RecordsXanadu Records was a jazz music record label specializing in bebop throughout the 1970s and 1980s founded by Don Schlitten, recording and issuing recordings by some legendary names in jazz music.-Discography:...
) - 1974: Time and the Place (Landmark RecordsLandmark RecordsLandmark Records was an American jazz record label founded in 1985 by Orrin Keepnews as a successor to Milestone Records. Landmark Records published albums recorded by the Kronos Quartet of music by Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk, as well as straight jazz albums...
) - 1975: Picture of Heath (Xanadu RecordsXanadu RecordsXanadu Records was a jazz music record label specializing in bebop throughout the 1970s and 1980s founded by Don Schlitten, recording and issuing recordings by some legendary names in jazz music.-Discography:...
) - 1975: Marchin' On (Strata East Records)
- 1979: In Motion (Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
) - 1985: New Picture (Landmark RecordsLandmark RecordsLandmark Records was an American jazz record label founded in 1985 by Orrin Keepnews as a successor to Milestone Records. Landmark Records published albums recorded by the Kronos Quartet of music by Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk, as well as straight jazz albums...
) - 1987: Peer Pleasure (Landmark RecordsLandmark RecordsLandmark Records was an American jazz record label founded in 1985 by Orrin Keepnews as a successor to Milestone Records. Landmark Records published albums recorded by the Kronos Quartet of music by Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk, as well as straight jazz albums...
) - 1992: Little Man, Big Band (Verve RecordsVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
) - 1994: You've Changed (Steeplechase RecordsSteepleChase RecordsSteepleChase Records is a jazz record label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time...
) - 1995: You or Me (Steeplechase RecordsSteepleChase RecordsSteepleChase Records is a jazz record label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time...
) - 2006: Turn Up the Heath (Planet Arts Recordings)
- 2009: Endurance (Jazz Legacy Productions)
As sideman
- 1948: Howard McGheeHoward McGheeHoward McGhee was one of the very first bebop jazz trumpeters, together with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for lightning-fast fingers and very high notes...
- The Howard McGhee Sextet with Milt Jackson - 1959: Blue MitchellBlue MitchellRichard Allen Mitchell was an American jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and funk trumpeter, known for many albums recorded as leader and sideman for Riverside, Blue Note and then Mainstream Records.-Biography:...
- Blue SoulBlue SoulBlue Soul is the third album led by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell recorded and released in 1959 on the Riverside label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G...
(RiversideRiverside RecordsRiverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) - 1960: Nat AdderleyNat AdderleyNathaniel Adderley was an American jazz cornet and trumpet player who played in the hard bop and soul jazz genres. He was the brother of saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley....
- That's Right!That's Right!-Track listing:# "The Old Country" - 3:56# "Chordnation" - 6:11# "The Folks Who Live On the Hill" - 4:15# "Tadd" - 4:17# "You Leave Me Breathless" - 4:16...
(Riverside) - 1960: Kenny DorhamKenny DorhamMcKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did...
- Show BoatShow Boat (Kenny Dorham album)Show Boat is an album by American jazz trumpeter Kenny Dorham featuring performances of tunes from the Jerome Kern musical Show Boat recorded in 1960 and released on the Time label.-Reception:...
(Time) - 1962: Blue Mitchell - A Sure ThingA Sure ThingA Sure Thing is an album by American trumpeter Blue Mitchell with orchestra recorded in late 1962 and released on the Riverside label.-Reception:...
(Riverside) - 1962: Curtis FullerCurtis FullerCurtis DuBois Fuller is an American jazz trombonist, known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributor to many classic jazz recordings.-Biography:...
- Soul TromboneSoul TromboneSoul Trombone is an album by American jazz trombonist Curtis Fuller featuring performances recorded in 1961 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:...
(Impulse!Impulse! RecordsImpulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
) - 1962: Pony PoindexterPony PoindexterNorwood "Pony" Poindexter was an American jazz saxophonist.Poindexter began on clarinet and switched to playing alto and tenor sax growing up. In 1940 he studied under Sidney Desvigne, and following this attended Candell Conservatory in Oakland, where he based himself...
- Pony's Express - 1962: Milt JacksonMilt JacksonMilton "Bags" Jackson was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms...
- StatementsStatements (album)Statements is an album by jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson, released in 1962 on Impulse! Records.The CD reissue features a composition originally on an Impulse sampler as well as quintet recordings from 1964.-Track listing:...
(Impulse!) - 1964: Milt Jackson - Spanish Fly
- 1964: Milt Jackson - Jazz 'n' SambaJazz 'n' SambaJazz 'n' Samba is an album by American jazz vibraponist Milt Jackson featuring performances recorded in 1964 for the Impulse! label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow stated "This is an odd LP. The first session is a conventional one.....
(Impulse!) - 1965: Donald ByrdDonald ByrdDonaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
- Up with Donald ByrdUp with Donald ByrdUp with Donald Byrd is an album by American trumpeter Donald Byrd featuring performances by Byrd with Jimmy Heath, Stanley Turrentine, Herbie Hancock, and Kenny Burrell recorded in 1964...
(VerveVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
) - 1965: Cal TjaderCal TjaderCallen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his...
- Soul Sauce (Verve) - 1970: Herbie MannHerbie MannHerbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
- Big Boss Mann - 1974: Red GarlandRed GarlandWilliam "Red" Garland was an American hard bop jazz pianist whose block chord style, in part originated by Milt Buckner, influenced many forthcoming pianists in the jazz idiom.-Beginnings:...
- The Quota - 1974: Milt Jackson - Olinga (CTICTI RecordsCTI Records was a jazz record label founded in 1967 by producer/A&R manager Creed Taylor. Initially, CTI was a subsidiary of A&M Records, but the label went independent in 1970...
) - 1976: Stanley CowellStanley CowellStanley Cowell is an American jazz pianist and founder of the Strata-East Records label. He played with Roland Kirk while studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and later with Marion Brown, Max Roach, Bobby Hutcherson, Clifford Jordan, Harold Land, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz...
- Regeneration - 2006: Nancy WilsonNancy Wilson (singer)Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
- Turned to BlueTurned to BlueTurned to Blue is an album from Jazz singer Nancy Wilson which saw release in 2006. The title track is a poem penned by Maya Angelou. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2007.- Featured performers :...
With Continuum
- Mad About Tadd (1980, Palo Alto RecordsPalo Alto RecordsPalo Alto Records was a jazz record label that released most of its discography in the 1980s. The label was founded in 1981 by Jim Benham, who was a Palo Alto, California resident. The artistic director was Herb Wong. In 1985 the company ceased its activities...
)
External links
- Personal website
- Brotherly Jazz:The Heath Brothers DVD Documentary
- Jimmy Heath's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project