Albert Heath
Albert "Tootie" Heath | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Albert Heath |
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | May 31, 1935
Genres | Jazz |
Instrument | Drums |
Years active | 1957–present |
Albert "Tootie" Heath (born May 31, 1935)[1] is an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath.[2]
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States,[1] he first recorded in 1957 with John Coltrane.[3] From 1958 to 1974, he worked with, among others, J. J. Johnson, Wes Montgomery, Art Farmer and Benny Golson's Jazztet, Cedar Walton, Bobby Timmons, Kenny Drew, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Herbie Hancock, Friedrich Gulda, Nina Simone, and Yusef Lateef.[1] In 1975, he, Jimmy and Percy formed the Heath Brothers.[1] He remained with the group until 1978, then left to freelance.[1] He has recorded extensively throughout his career.
Among his many workshop and classroom teaching assignments, Heath is a regular instructor at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.
Tootie Heath is now the producer and leader of The Whole Drum Truth, a jazz drum ensemble featuring Ben Riley, Ed Thigpen, Jackie Williams, Billy Hart, Charlie Persip, Leroy Williams and Louis Hayes.
Discography
As leader
- 1969: Kawaida (O'Be, 1969) with Ed Blackwell, Herbie Hancock, Buster Williams, James Mtume
- 1974: Kwanza (The First) (Muse)
- 2009: Live at Smalls (Smalls Live)
- 2012: Krakkle (Geco)
- 2013: Tootie's Tempo (Sunnyside)
- 2014: Philadelphia Beat (Sunnyside)
As sideman
With Kenny Barron
- Peruvian Blue (Muse, 1974)
With Walter Benton
- Out of This World (Jazzland, 1960)
With Anthony Braxton
- In the Tradition (SteepleChase, 1974)
- In the Tradition Volume 2 (SteepleChase, 1974 [1977])
With George Cables
- Skylark (SteepleChase, 1995)
With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
- Latin Kaleidoscope (MPS, 1968)
With John Coltrane
With Ted Curson
With Kenny Dorham
- Trompeta Toccata (Blue Note, 1964)
With Kenny Drew
- Dark Beauty (Steeplechase, 1974)
- If You Could See Me Now (Steeplechase, 1974)
With Art Farmer
- Big City Sounds (Argo, 1960) – with Benny Golson
- Art (Argo, 1960)
- The Jazztet and John Lewis (Argo, 1961) – with Benny Golson
- The Jazztet at Birdhouse (Argo, 1961) – with Benny Golson
- New York Jazz Sextet: Group Therapy (Scepter, 1966)
- Voices All (Eastworld, 1982) – with Benny Golson
- Moment to Moment (Soul Note, 1983) – with Benny Golson
- Central Avenue Reunion (Contemporary, 1989)
With Benny Golson
- Take a Number from 1 to 10 (Argo, 1961)
- The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra (Mercury, 1964)
With Dexter Gordon
- Both Sides of Midnight (Black Lion, 1967 [1981])
- Body and Soul (Black Lion, 1967 [1981])
- Take the "A" Train (Black Lion, 1967 [1988])
- The Tower of Power! (Prestige, 1969)
- More Power! (Prestige, 1969)
- The Apartment (SteepleChase, 1975)
With Bennie Green and Gene Ammons
- The Swingin'est (Vee-Jay, 1958)
With Johnny Griffin
- Bush Dance (Galaxy, 1978)
With Herbie Hancock
- The Prisoner (Blue Note, 1969)
With Jimmy Heath
- The Thumper (Riverside, 1959)
- Really Big! (Riverside, 1960)
- The Quota (Riverside, 1961)
- Triple Threat (Riverside, 1962)
- Swamp Seed (Riverside, 1963)
- On the Trail (Riverside, 1964)
- The Gap Sealer (Cobblestone, 1973)
- You've Changed (SteepleChase, 1991)
- You or Me (SteepleChase, 1995)
With Milt Jackson
- Milt Jackson Quintet Live at the Village Gate (Riverside, 1963)
- Much in Common with Ray Brown (Verve, 1964)
With J. J. Johnson
- J. J. in Person! (Columbia, 1958)
- Really Livin' (Columbia, 1959)
- J.J. Inc. (Columbia, 1961)
With Clifford Jordan
- Spellbound (Riverside, 1960)
- Starting Time (Jazzland, 1961)
- These are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly (Atlantic, 1965)
- In the World (Strata-East, 1969 [1972])
- Half Note (SteepleChase, 1974 [1985])
With Yusef Lateef
- Yusef Lateef's Detroit (Atlantic, 1969)
- Suite 16 (Atlantic, 1970)
- The Gentle Giant (Atlantic, 1971)
- Hush 'N' Thunder (Atlantic, 1972)
- Part of the Search (Atlantic, 1973)
- 10 Years Hence (Atlantic, 1974)
With Johnny Lytle
- Blue Vibes (Jazzland, 1960)
With Roberto Magris
- Morgan Rewind: A Tribute to Lee Morgan Vol. 1 (JMood, 2012)
- One Night in with Hope and More Vol. 1 (JMood, 2012)
- One Night in with Hope and More Vol. 2 (JMood, 2013)
With Guido Manusardi
- Trio de Jazz (Electrecord – EDE 0476, 1968)
With Warne Marsh
- Back Home (Criss Cross, 1986)
With Ronnie Mathews
- Doin' the Thang! (Prestige, 1963)
With Charles McPherson
- Bebop Revisited! (Prestige, 1964)
With Blue Mitchell
- A Sure Thing (Riverside, 1962)
- Mapenzi with Harold Land (Concord, 1977)
With Roscoe Mitchell
- Hey Donald (Delmark, 1995)
- In Walked Buckner (Delmark, 1999)
With Wes Montgomery
- The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (Riverside, 1960)
With Tete Montoliu
- Piano for Nuria (SABA, 1968)
- Catalonian Fire (SteepleChase, 1974)
- Tete! (SteepleChase, 1975)
- Tête à Tete (SteepleChase, 1976)
- Tootie's Tempo (SteepleChase, 1976 [1979])
- Catalonian Nights Vol. 1 (Steeplechase, 1980 [1981])
- Catalonian Nights Vol. 2 (Steeplechase, 1980 [1985])
- Catalonian Nights Vol. 3 (Steeplechase, 1980 [1989])
With Don Patterson
- These Are Soulful Days (Muse, 1973)
With Cecil Payne
- Zodiac (Strata-East, 1968 [1973])
With Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
- Double Bass (SteepleChase, 1976) with Sam Jones
With Sonny Red
- Breezing (Jazzland, 1960)
With George Russell
- George Russell Sextet at Beethoven Hall (MPS, 1965)
With Michel Sardaby
- Night Blossom (DIW, 1990)
With Bud Shank
- That Old Feeling (Contemporary, 1986)
With Nina Simone
- Little Girl Blue (Bethlehem, 1958)
- Nina Simone and Her Friends (Bethlehem, 1959)
With Les Spann
- Gemini (Jazzland, 1961)
With Billy Taylor
- Billy Taylor with Four Flutes (Riverside, 1959)
With Bobby Timmons
- Chun-King (Prestige, 1964)
With Mal Waldron
- Impressions (New Jazz, 1959)
With Cedar Walton
- Soul Cycle (Prestige, 1969)
With The Young Lions
- The Young Lions (Vee-Jay, 1960)
Awards and nominations
In October 2020, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced Heath as one of four recipients of the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowships, celebrated in an online concert and show on 22 April 2021. Awarded in recognition of lifetime achievement, the honor is bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to the art form. The other 2021 recipients were Terri Lyne Carrington, Phil Schaap, and Henry Threadgill.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 195/6. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
- ^ "Albert "Tootie" Heath | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ "Albert Heath". Drummer Cafe. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ Beete, Paulette. "Congratulations to the 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters". Arts.gov. National Endowment for the Arts. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
External links
- "Albert 'Tootie' Heath" biography and management, Soul Patch Music.
- Brotherly Jazz. The Heath Brothers DVD Documentary.
- Tootie Heath's MySpace page
- Ben Ratliff, "Music in Review; Heath Brothers", The New York Times, April 4, 2003.
- "Interview with Albert 'Tootie' Heath", DTM.
- "Albert 'Tootie' Heath, Drummer Extraordinaire, Turns The Tables", interview on All Things Considered, NPR, March 14, 2015.
- Albert Heath at Tower Records.
- 1935 births
- Living people
- Hard bop drummers
- Post-bop drummers
- American jazz drummers
- African-American drummers
- Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
- Muse Records artists
- 20th-century American drummers
- American male drummers
- 20th-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians
- Modern Jazz Quartet members
- Heath Brothers members
- The Jazztet members
- Sunnyside Records artists
- 20th-century African-American musicians
- 21st-century African-American people
- Spiritual jazz musicians