The Heath Brothers and Me...

***Really Big! (1960) signed by Jimmy and Tootie Heath, Tommy Flanagan, Clark Terry***

I had met Jimmy Heath, who - besides being a wonderful saxophonist - understood a lot about musical construction. I joined his group in Philadelphia in 1948. We were very much alike in our feeling, phrasing and a whole lot of other ways. Our musical appetites were the same. We used to practice together, and he would write out some of the things we were interested in. We would take things from records and digest them. In this way, we learned about the techniques being used by writers and arrangers.
John Coltrane, Downbeat, 1960

***Nice People (1964 recordings) signed by the Heath Brothers, Donald Byrd, Clark Terry, Kenny Burrell,Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton,***

Trane was always high on Jimmy’s playing and so was I. Plus, he was a very hip dude to be with, funny and clean and very intelligent. Jimmy is one of the thoroughbreds.
Miles Davis

***Live At The Village Gate (1963) signed by Jimmy, Tootie, Milt Jackson, Hank Jones, Bob Cranshaw***

He’d say, “Hey, come here. Let me show you something on the piano.” The first time I had him at my home in Philadelphia, he showed me things on our piano. He said, “If you want to be an arranger and composer, you have to learn this keyboard.” He showed me harmonies that I still use…very modern voicings on the piano. He’d voice chords differently than anyone else. He was the first to show me the 9th next to the 10th, and how to create note clusters and harmonic devices that I still use today.
Jimmy Heath on the influence of Dizzy Gillespie

***Jay Hawk Talk (1965) signed by Jimmy, “thanks for Ears”***

He was not a guy who had an entourage like some people. He was an ordinary human being with a world of talent. And he would give his talent to others. He would show you a lot of things. We all learned from Dizzy, and those who passed through Dizzy’s bands all went on to become the giants of the music.
Jimmy Heath on his mentor Dizzy Gillespie

***Kenny Dorham Quintet (1954) signed by Jimmy***

At that session with Howard McGhee in ’48, I played baritone for a couple of tunes, and that was the first time ever that I’d recorded on baritone. This album with Kenny was one of the very few other times I played baritone on record. He asked me to play it on “Be My Love.” Being 5-foot-3, it’s not too often that I’d be asked to play the baritone saxophone; it was too big for me! I think I did just three sessions with it. Three strikes and I’m out.
Jimmy Heath on playing with Kenny Dorham’s Debut Record

***Jazz ‘ n’ Samba (1964) signed by Jimmy, Milt, Tommy Flanagan, Richard Davis***

So when I started making my own records for Riverside, I wanted to bring those guys in. Especially Wynton (Kelly), the way he plays those triplets. A friend of mine in Philly said, and I agree, that he plays teardrops in his solos. They’re just dripping down.
Jimmy Heath

***Much In Common (1964) signed by Tootie, Milt, Ray Brown, Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones***

I arranged one half of that record, and Oliver Nelson arranged the other half. For some reason, Oliver had a whole big band and I only got a tentet. When I found that out, I said, “Oh shit, they cheated me!” And Oliver insisted on using minor seconds in his orchestration all the time, that crunchy harmony, which was a pet peeve with Milt Jackson. Bags had perfect pitch, so the minor seconds rubbed him wrongly. He’d be like, “Are you playing E or F or what?” Later he told me, “Look, Bermuda”—he called me that—“I like your side of the record better than Oliver’s.”
Jimmy Heath on arranging Ray Brown/Milt Jackson

***Opus De Funk (1975) signed by Jimmy and Percy Heath, Milt Jackson, Ron Carter, Tommy Flanagan***

The first record I bought myself was “C Jam Blues” and “Rain Check” by Duke Ellington. I came home one day and it was under the sofa. I think Tootie (younger brother and phenomenal drummer Al “Tootie” Heath) broke it. Erskine Hawkins: “Swinging on Lenox Avenue,” “After Hours,” and “Tuxedo Junction,” Glen Miller: “Serenade in Blue,” Bird and Dizzy: “Shaw Enough” and “Groovin’ High,” Sarah Vaughan: “If You Could See Me Now;” John Coltrane: “Naima.” Kenny Dorham was the romantic composer of the bebop era. He wrote four or five beautiful ballads. And Gil Evans: “Porgy & Bess” with Miles, because me and my wife courted on that album, and we’ve been married now for 51 years.
Jimmy Heath on records that changed his life, 2011 interview

***Showboat (1960 recordings) signed by Jimmy***

There are great family traditions in Jazz. The Marsalis clan from New Orleans is probably the most notable, the Jones boys (Thad, Hank, and Elvin) from Detroit are probably the most talented, but the Heath Brothers (Percy, Jimmy, and Albert "Tootie") from Philadelphia (via North Carolina) are the most unsung and underrated.

***In Motion (1979) signed by Jimmy, Tootie, Percy***

Percy Heath is the oldest brother, a bass player with The Modern Jazz Quartet for forty years and an accomplished cellist. Percy is tall, 6'3", all sinewy limbs and long fingers as he thumps and thwacks his upright bass, setting an immaculate groove. Jimmy Heath is the middle brother, a tenor saxophonist, flutist, arranger and composer. Jimmy is diminutive, 5'3" but a full force gale when blowing his tenor sax. Albert "Tootie" Heath is the youngest brother, a drummer who has recorded with Nina Simone, Wes Montgomery, and Dexter Gordon. Tootie is thicker, sturdy and strong as he beats complex time and rhythms on his drums, the consummate timekeeper.

***Passin’ Thru (1978) signed by Jimmy, Percy, Tootie***

Collectively, the Heath brothers have appeared on hundreds and hundreds of jazz recordings. Jimmy alone has appeared on over one-hundred twenty-five records and some of his one-hundred plus compositions have become jazz standards and recorded by Charlie Parker (a latin groove "Fiesta"), Miles Davis ("The Serpent's Tooth"), Chet Baker ("Gingerbread Boy"), and Dexter Gordon ("C.T.A.") to name just a few. During breaks with their various band commitments and tours, the Heath Brothers also recorded together. As brothers. They have released twelve albums and, despite Percy's passing in 2003, Jimmy and Tootie still get together and perform. The Heath Brothers' shows are so much fun, with their talent and good humor readily apparent in all that they do.

***The Gap Sealer (1972) signed by Jimmy and Tootie Heath, Kenny Barron, Bob Cranshaw***

They have signed lots and lots of albums over the years and they have always been kind and generous. Ever true to his instrument, Percy always drew a bass scroll with tuning pegs underneath his signature. When I showed Tootie the Nice People album, I pointed to some of the signatures. I told him, "‘Look I got brother Percy and brother Jimmy here and brother Kenny (Burrell)...’ "What's your name?" he interrupted. Then he signed it, handed it back to me and smiled, "Look, now we got brother Neil on there too." It may have been my proudest moment. An honorary Heath Brother, if only on a signature on a great album.

The Heath brothers. Nice, easy, affable, and extremely talented brothers.