Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
,
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...
, and
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...
.
Biography
Heath was born in
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States.
With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...
, United States, and spent his childhood in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. His father played the clarinet and his mother sang in the church choir. He started playing
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
at the age of eight and also sang locally. He was drafted into the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
in 1944, but saw no combat.
Deciding after the war to go into music, he bought a stand-up bass and enrolled in the Granoff School of Music in Philadelphia. Soon he was playing in the city's jazz clubs with leading artists. In Chicago in 1948, he recorded with his brother on a Milt Jackson album, as members of the Howard McGhee Sextet.Milt Jackson discography 'The Howard McGhee Sextet with Milt Jackson'' - Howard McGhee, Jimmy Heath, Milt Jackson, Will Davis, Percy Heath, Joe Harris, (Savoy MG 12026) After moving to New York in the late 1940s, Percy and Jimmy Heath found work with Dizzy Gillespie's groups. Around this time, he was also a member of Joe Morris's band, together with Johnny Griffin.
It transpired that other members of the Gillespie
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...
, pianist John Lewis, drummer Kenny Clarke, Milt Jackson, and bassist Ray Brown, decided to form a permanent group; they were already becoming known for their interludes during Gillespie band performances that, as AllMusic.com stated, gave the rest of the band much-needed set breaks – that would eventually become known as the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ). When Brown left the group to join his wife
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, i ...
's band, Heath joined and the group was officially begun in 1952, with Connie Kay replacing Clarke, who left in January 1955. The MJQ played regularly until it disbanded in 1974; it reformed in 1981 and last recorded in 1993.
In 1975, Percy Heath and his brothers formed the Heath Brothers with pianist Stanley Cowell. He would sometimes play the
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
instead of the bass in these later performances.
As a sideman, Percy performed on approximately 300 recording dates in a career of over 57 years.
In 1989, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...
.
In 2003, at the age of 80, Heath released his first album as a leader through the Daddy Jazz label. The album, entitled ''A Love Song'', garnered rave reviews and served as a fitting coda for his illustrious career. It featured brother Albert Heath on drums, bassist Peter Washington and pianist Jeb Patton.
Percy Heath died, after a second bout with bone cancer, two days short of his 82nd birthday, in Southampton, New York. The month after his death, bassist William Parker recorded the tribute album '' For Percy Heath''.
Heath was an avid striped bass fisherman, and surfcaster, who could be found on many a day, along the surf line of his beloved Montauk Point. He was well respected by the community, and his fellow fishermen. He also relished time away from the stage on his fishing boat, appropriately named "The Fiddler" kept in Montauk as well.On May 27, 2006, a plaque was set into a 5,000lb stone, at Turtle Cove, at Montauk Point, as a memorial. The ceremony was attended by his wife June, and three sons.
Discography
As leader
*''A Love Song'' (2003), with Jeb Patton (piano), Peter Washington (bass), Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums)
Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France and t ...
'' (1955, Prestige 7005)
* ''
Fontessa
''Fontessa'' is a 1956 album by the Modern Jazz Quartet released on Atlantic Records. It was the first of their albums released on Atlantic.
The album was released in the USA in mono on the black Atlantic label with catalogue number 1231. It was r ...
The Modern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. For most of its history the Quartet consisted of John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Percy H ...
'' (Atlantic, 1957)
* ''
Third Stream Music
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
Concert in Japan '66
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...
'' (Atlantic
apan
Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km².
Overview
As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247.
It was an important site in the ...
Under the Jasmin Tree
''Under the Jasmin Tree'' is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded in December 1967 and released on the Apple label.
'' (Apple, 1968)
* ''
Space
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually con ...
'' (Apple, 1969)
* '' Plastic Dreams'' (Atlantic, 1971)
* ''The Only Recorded Performance of Paul Desmond With The Modern Jazz Quartet'' (Finesse/Columbia, 1971 981 – with Paul Desmond
* ''
The Legendary Profile
''The Legendary Profile'' is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet recorded in 1972 and released on the Atlantic label.
Echoes
Echoes may refer to:
* Echo (phenomenon)
Film and television
* ''Echoes'' (2014 film), an American supernatural horror film
* ''Echoes'' (miniseries), a 2022 Netflix original drama series
* "Echoes" (''Fear Itself''), an episode of ''Fear Itse ...
New Star on the Horizon
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Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...
Miles Davis Volume 2
''Miles Davis Volume 2'' is the fifth studio album by musician Miles Davis. It refers to two separate but related entities. The first is a Miles Davis studio album released by Blue Note Records as a 10-inch LP, as BLP 5022 in 1953. The six tra ...
Benny Golson and the Philadelphians
''Benny Golson and the Philadelphians'' is an album by saxophonist Benny Golson which was recorded in November and December 1958. Originally released on the United Artists label,
'' (United Artists, 1958)
With
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...
*''
Gotham City
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Kwanza (The First)
''Kwanza (The First)'' is an album by drummer Albert Heath featuring performances recorded in 1973 and originally released on the Muse label.
Reception
Andrew Gilbert of KQED says, "''Kwanza'' captures a mid-career master with a long-establishe ...
Really Big!
''Really Big!'' is the second album by saxophonist Jimmy Heath featuring big band performances recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Riverside label.
Swamp Seed
''Swamp Seed'' is the fifth album by the saxophonist Jimmy Heath of performances recorded in 1963, originally released on the Riverside label.
Milt Jackson Quartet
''Milt Jackson Quartet'' (also released as ''Soul Pioneers'') is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson featuring performances recorded in 1955 and released on the Prestige label.
Plenty, Plenty Soul
''Plenty, Plenty Soul'' is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson featuring performances recorded in 1957 and released on the Atlantic label.
The Return of Howard McGhee
''The Return of Howard McGhee'' is an album by trumpeter Howard McGhee which was recorded in 1955 and released on the Bethlehem label.
'' (Bethlehem, 1955)
With
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...