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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bassist, brother of saxophonist

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. He was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath. Biography Heath w ...

and drummer

Albert Heath Albert "Tootie" Heath (May 31, 1935 – April 3, 2024) was an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath. With Stanley Cowell, the Heaths formed the Heath Brothers jazz b ...

, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the

Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical music, classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. The Quartet consisted of John Lewis (pianist), John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphon ...

throughout their long history and also worked with

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

and Lee Konitz.

Biography

Heath was born in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, United States, and spent his childhood in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. His father played the

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

and his mother sang in the church choir. He started playing

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

at the age of eight and also sang locally. He was drafted into the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1944, trained with the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...

, graduating as a 2nd Lieutenant pilot, 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 Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger bebo ...

Sextet.Milt Jackson discography
''The Howard McGhee Sextet with Milt Jackson'' –

, 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

's groups. Around this time, Percy 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 and ...

, 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

(MJQ). When Brown left the group to join his wife Ella Fitzgerald'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. Percy would sometimes play the

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

instead of the bass in these later performances. As a sideman, he performed on approximately 300 recording dates in a career of more than 57 years. In 1989, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. 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 A bone tumor is an neoplastic, abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as benign, noncancerous (benign) or malignant, cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body su ...

, two days short of his 82nd birthday, in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, 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)

As a member of the
Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical music, classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. The Quartet consisted of John Lewis (pianist), John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphon ...

* '' Vendome'' (1952, Prestige 851) * '' Modern Jazz Quartet, ii'' (1954–5, Prestige 170), including " Django" (1954) * ''

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

'' (1955, Prestige 7005) * '' Fontessa'' (1956, Atlantic 1231), including "Versailles" * '' The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays No Sun in Venice'' (Atlantic, 1957) * '' The Modern Jazz Quartet'' (Atlantic, 1957) * '' Third Stream Music'' (1957, 1959–60, Atlantic. 1345), including "Sketch for Double String Quartet" (1959) * '' The Modern Jazz Quartet and the Oscar Peterson Trio at the Opera House'' (Verve, 1957) * '' The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn Volume 2'' (Atlantic, 1958) * ''

Music from Odds Against Tomorrow ''Music from Odds Against Tomorrow'' (also released as ''Patterns'') is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring interpretations of the soundtrack score for the 1959 motion picture ''Odds Against Tomorrow''. It was releas ...

'' (United Artists, 1959) * ''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

'' (Atlantic, 1960) * '' European Concert'' (Atlantic, 1960 962 * '' Dedicated to Connie'' (Atlantic, 1960 995 * '' The Modern Jazz Quartet & Orchestra'' (Atlantic, 1960) * '' The Comedy'' (1962, Atlantic 1390) * '' Lonely Woman'' (Atlantic, 1962) * '' A Quartet is a Quartet is a Quartet'' (1963, Atlantic 1420) * ''

Collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

'' (Atlantic, 1964), with Laurindo Almeida * '' The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess'' (Atlantic, 1964–65) * '' Jazz Dialogue'' (Atlantic, 1965), with the All-Star Jazz Band * '' Concert in Japan '66'' (Atlantic apan 1966) * '' Blues at Carnegie Hall'' (Atlantic, 1966) * '' Place Vendôme'' (Philips, 1966), with The Swingle Singers * '' Under the Jasmin Tree'' (Apple, 1968) * ''

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

'' (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'' (Atlantic, 1972) * '' In Memoriam'' (Little David, 1973) * '' Blues on Bach'' (Atlantic, 1973) * '' The Last Concert'' (Atlantic, 1974) * '' Reunion at Budokan 1981'' (Pablo, 1981) * '' Together Again: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival '82'' (Pablo, 1982) * '' Echoes'' (Pablo, 1984) * '' Topsy: This One's for Basie'' (Pablo, 1985) * '' Three Windows'' (Atlantic, 1987) * '' For Ellington'' (East West, 1988) * '' MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration'' (Atlantic, 1992–93)

As sideman (partial list)

With

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

*''

Know What I Mean ''Know What I Mean?'' is a 1962 jazz album by alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, accompanied by Bill Evans and the rhythm section of the Modern Jazz Quartet. It was released on the Riverside label as RLP-433. Back ...

'' with

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...

(Riverside, 1961) With Nat Adderley *'' Work Song'' (Riverside, 1960) With

Paul Bley Paul Bley, Order of Canada, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a Canadian jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live per ...

*''

'' (EmArcy, 1954) With Clifford Brown * '' New Star on the Horizon'' (Blue Note, 1953) With

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a popular music, pop music ...

*'' Miss Rhythm'' (Atlantic, 1959) With Kenny Clarke *'' Telefunken Blues'' (Savoy, 1955) With

*'' Bags' Groove'' (Prestige, 1954) *'' Walkin''' (Prestige, 1954) *'' Blue Haze'' (Prestige, 1954) *'' Miles Davis Volume 1'' (Blue Note, 1955) *'' Miles Davis Volume 2'' (Blue Note, 1955) *'' Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants'' (Prestige, 1958) *'' Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4'' (Columbia Legacy, 2015) With Paul Desmond *'' First Place Again'' (Wartner Bros., 1959) *'' Easy Living'' (RCA Victor, 1963–65 966 With

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doub ...

*''

Early Art ''Early Art'' is an album by trumpeter Art Farmer featuring two sessions recorded in 1954 which was originally released on LP on the Prestige Records, New Jazz label in the early 1960s.

'' (New Jazz, 1954) *'' The Art Farmer Septet'' Prestige, 1953–54) *'' When Farmer Met Gryce'' (Prestige, 1954), with Gigi Gryce *'' Brass Shout'' (United Artists, 1959) With

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

*'' Stan Getz Quartets'' (Prestige, 1949–50 955 With

*'' Dee Gee Days: The Savoy Sessions'' (Savoy, 1951–52 976 *'' Dizzy and Strings'' (Norgran, 1954) *'' The Bop Session'' (Sonet, 1975), with

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...

, John Lewis,

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

and

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

With Benny Golson *'' Benny Golson and the Philadelphians'' (United Artists, 1958) With

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was , so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" an ...

*''

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

'' (Columbia, 1980 981 With Urbie Green *'' Blues and Other Shades of Green'' (ABC-Paramount, 1955) With

*'' Kwanza (The First)'' (Muse, 1973) With

*'' Really Big!'' (Riverside, 1960) *'' The Quota'' (Riverside, 1961) *'' Triple Threat'' (Riverside, 1962) *'' Swamp Seed'' (Riverside, 1963) With Elmo Hope *'' Trio and Quintet'' (Blue Note, 1953–54) *'' Homecoming!'' (Riverside, 1961) With Milt Jackson *'' Meet Milt Jackson'' (Savoy, 1954) *'' Milt Jackson Quartet'' (Prestige, 1955) *'' Ballads & Blues'' (Atlantic, 1956) *'' Plenty, Plenty Soul'' (Atlantic, 1957) *'' Bags & Flutes'' (Atlantic, 1957) With J. J. Johnson *'' J Is for Jazz'' (Columbia, 1956) With Duke Jordan *'' Duke Jordan Trio and Quintet'' (Signal, 1955) ;with Lee Konitz *'' Lee Konitz at Storyville'' (Storyville, 1954) With John Lewis *'' The Modern Jazz Society Presents a Concert of Contemporary Music'' (Norgran, 1955) *'' Grand Encounter'' (Pacific Jazz, 1956) *'' Afternoon in Paris'' (Atlantic, 1957), with Sacha Distel *'' The John Lewis Piano'' (Atlantic, 1957) With

*'' Howard McGhee and Milt Jackson'' (Savoy, 1948 955, with Milt Jackson *'' The Return of Howard McGhee'' (Bethlehem, 1955) With

*'' The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery'' (Riverside, 1960) With

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

*'' Sonny Rollins at Music Inn'' (MetroJazz, 1958) With Michel Sardaby *''Night Cap'' (Sound Hills, 1970) With

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

*'' The Brothers'' (Prestige, 1949) With Kai Winding *'' Jay and Kai'' (Columbia, 1957)

References

External links

National Endowment for the Arts - NEA Jazz Masters biography

Brotherly Jazz: The Heath Brothers DVD Documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Percy 1923 births 2005 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American double-bassists African-American aviators American jazz double-bassists American male double-bassists American male jazz musicians Bebop double-bassists Cool jazz double-bassists Deaths from bone cancer in New York (state) Hard bop double-bassists Heath Brothers members Jazz musicians from North Carolina Jazz musicians from Philadelphia Military personnel from North Carolina Modern Jazz Quartet members People from Wilmington, North Carolina Singers from North Carolina NEA Jazz Masters