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With his delicately soulful tone and refined ear for lyrical, hard-swinging bop, tenor saxophonist
Jimmy Heath helped shepherd modern jazz into the 21st century. Initially emerging as a member of
Dizzy Gillespie's big band in the 1940s,
Heath (then known as "Little Bird" after his idol
Charlie "Yardbird" Parker) would establish his reputation as gifted improviser and composer, working with innovators like
Miles Davis,
John Coltrane, and
Milt Jackson. He came to his greatest acclaim in the late '50s, penning a bevy of compositions like "C.T.A.," "Gingerbread Boy," and "For Minors Only," many of which would become jazz standards. His early Riverside albums, including 1959's
The Thumper, 1962's Triple Threat, and 1964's
On the Trail, are the epitome of hard bop, and many of the albums he contributed to are classics. He recorded for such varied labels as Strata East, Muse, and
Columbia, working with his siblings, bassist
Percy Heath and drummer
Albert "Tootie" Heath, as
the Heath Brothers, and collaborating with boundary-pushing stylists like
Charles Tolliver,
Stanley Cowell, and
Art Farmer. Along with three Grammy nominations, including for 1994's Little Man, Big Band,
Heath was also a 2003 NEA Jazz Master who dedicated much of his career to teaching, working at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, and helping to oversee the
Louis Armstrong Archives. Still, performing remained his passion and he continued to work throughout his later years, often playing alongside younger musicians, including
Roy Hargrove on his 2012 85th birthday celebration Togetherness: Live at the Blue Note, and
Wynton Marsalis and
Cecile McLorin Salvant on 2020's
Love Letter.
Born in Philadelphia in 1926,
Heath was introduced to jazz and big-band music by his father, an auto mechanic and part-time clarinet player, and mother, a singer in their church choir. However, due to the Depression his father often found himself out of work. Subsequently,
Heath and his siblings were sent to live with their grandparents who ran a grocery store in Wilmington, North Carolina. It was there, while going to high school, that
Jimmy started playing the alto saxophone, participating in the concert and marching band programs. Similarly, his older brother
Percy played bass and his younger brother
Albert "Tootie" played drums. He also had a sister Elizabeth who played piano. They would return home to Philadelphia for the summer, during which time
Jimmy took private lessons. After graduating high school in 1943,
Heath started his own swing dance band. He also performed with the Nat Towles band. By 1947, he was leading his own small group, playing alongside a young
John Coltrane, trumpeter
Johnny Coles, tenor saxophonist
Benny Golson, bassist
Nelson Boyd, drummer
Specs Wright, and other Philadelphia natives. It was also around this time that he discovered bebop, influenced heavily by altoist
Charlie "Yardbird" Parker. In 1948,
Heath joined trumpeter
Howard McGhee. He was soon joined by his brother
Percy and together they toured Paris, appearing at the city's first jazz festival. It was while with
McGhee that
Heath earned his nickname "Little Bird," due in part to his love of
Parker and his small stature; he had been turned away for the draft during WWII for being below the minimum weight. The following year,
Heath became a member of trumpeter
Dizzy Gillespie's band, which also featured a number of other Philadelphia regulars including
Coltrane.
In the early '50s,
Heath switched to tenor saxophone to better set himself apart from
Parker and to secure more gigs. Soon after, he joined
Miles Davis' band, appearing on the trumpeter's second album, 1952's Young Man with a Horn. There were also seminal dates with
J.J. Johnson,
Clifford Brown, and
Kenny Dorham. Just as his career was taking off,
Heath (an admitted drug addict) was arrested and convicted twice for the sale of heroin. His first arrest came in 1954 and found him incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Following his release, he was again arrested in 1955 and sentenced to six years in prison. Sent to Lewisburg Penitentiary in Pennsylvania, he served four years. While in prison,
Heath continued to write music, arranging for the prison big band and composing songs like "For Minors Only," "C.T.A.," ''Picture of Heath," and "For Miles and Miles," most of which gained wider attention after they were included on
Chet Baker and
Art Pepper's 1956 album Playboys.
Released from prison in 1959,
Heath, now sober, immediately began to rebuild his career. That same year, he made his long-awaited debut as leader with
The Thumper, an all-star session for Riverside featuring cornetist
Nat Adderley, trombonist
Curtis Fuller, pianist
Wynton Kelly, bassist
Paul Chambers, and his brother drummer
Albert. He also appeared on trumpeter
Blue Mitchell's classic album
Blue Soul and briefly re-joined
Miles Davis' group, taking over for
Coltrane. Equally well-regarded sessions followed, including albums with
Kenny Dorham,
Sam Jones,
Freddie Hubbard, and others. He followed his debut with the 1960 large-ensemble album
Really Big!, featuring cornetist
Adderley, flugelhornist
Clark Terry, altoist
Cannonball Adderley, and pianists
Cedar Walton and
Tommy Flanagan.
Heath's output increased significantly throughout the early '60s with albums like 1961's
The Quota, 1962's Triple Threat, and 1964's
On the Trail, the latter of which introduced two more of his originals with "Gingerbread Boy" and "Project S." He also recorded albums with
Milt Jackson,
Mongo Santamaria, and others.
Heath returned to his solo work with 1972's The Gap Sealer, a hard-hitting album that found him playing both alto and tenor saxophone, as well as flute. Along with pianists
Kenny Barron and
Stanley Cowell, bassist
Bob Cranshaw, and his brother drummer
Albert, the album was also his first to feature his son, percussionist
James Mtume. He then recorded several albums for the Muse label, including 1973's Love and Understanding, all of which found him further expanding his approach, embracing funk, avant-garde, and spiritual jazz influences. It was also during this period that he formed the
Heath Brothers with his siblings
Percy and
Albert, as well as pianist
Cowell. The group debuted the with 1975's Marchin' On, released on
Cowell and trumpeter
Charles Tolliver's Strata East label. They gained wider visibility after signing with
Columbia Records and releasing 1978's Passin' Thru and 1979's In Motion.
In the '80s,
Heath expanded into teaching, joining the faculty of the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, City University of New York. Over the next 20 years, he balanced teaching and performing, helping create the school's jazz education program and attracting other jazz luminaries to campus, including
Donald Byrd. He also served on the board of the school's
Louis Armstrong Archives and aided in the restoration of
Armstrong's home in Corona, Queens. Despite his dedication to teaching, he continued to perform and record during these years, releasing albums like 1987's Peer Pressure, 1992's Grammy-nominated Little Man, Big Band, and 1994's You've Changed.
In 2006, he again showcased his big band with
Turn Up the Heath. He then collaborated with the
Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra on the commissioned
Endless Search. In 2011,
Heath celebrated his 85th birthday with two nights of live performances at New York's Blue Note, backed by his 18-member big band. Released in 2012 as Togetherness: Live at the Blue Note, it featured appearances by
Roy Hargrove,
Peter Washington,
Lewis Nash,
Steve Davis, and others.
Heath died on January 19, 2020 in Loganville, Georgia from natural causes. He was 93 years old. A posthumous album,
Love Letter, arrived that August and worked as a romantic farewell from the saxophonist. It featured guest spots by
Wynton Marsalis,
Cecile McLorin Salvant, and
Gregory Porter. ~ Matt Collar