The Heath Brothers 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 major ...

group, formed in 1975 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 ...

, by the brothers Jimmy (tenor saxophone),

Percy The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...

(bass), and

Albert "Tootie" Heath Albert "Tootie" Heath (born May 31, 1935) is an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, he first recorded in 1957 with J ...

(drums); and pianist

Stanley Cowell Stanley Cowell (May 5, 1941 – December 17, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and co-founder of the Strata-East Records label. Early life Cowell was born in Toledo, Ohio. He began playing the piano around the age of four, and became interest ...

. Tony Purrone (guitar) and Jimmy's son

Mtume Mtume (pronounced ''em-tu-may'') was an American funk and soul group that rose to prominence during the early 1980s and had several R&B hits during its career. Its founder, former percussionist James Mtume, previously played and toured with M ...

(percussion) joined the group later. Tootie left in 1978, and was replaced by Akira Tana for a short period, before returning in 1982. They also added other sidemen for some of their recording dates. The group issued four singles between 1978 and 1981, "Mellowdrama", "For the Public", "Use it (Don't Abuse it)" and "Dreamin'". "Dreamin'", a track from the 1980 LP, "Expressions of Life", had the most airplay in the UK despite not reaching the UK chart. The group with just two of the brothers, Jimmy and Tootie, and additional sidemen as needed, continued to perform and record after Percy died in 2004. The DVD, ''Brotherly Jazz: The Heath Brothers'', recorded in 2004, shortly before Percy's death, was one of the last times the three brothers played together, and chronicled the brothers' personal lives, as well as socio-political issues many jazz musicians dealt with in the later 20th century, including jail, drugs, discrimination and segregation. The 2009 CD ''Endurance'' was the first without Percy, and features seven original numbers by Jimmy, including "From a Lonely Bass", composed in memory of his late brother. Jimmy Heath died on January 19, 2020.

Discography

* ''Marchin' On'' (1975) ( Strata-East Records) * ''Passin' Thru'' (1978) (

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

) * ''Live at the Public Theatre'' (1979) (

) * ''In Motion'' (1979) (

) * ''Expressions of Life'' (1980) (

) * ''Brotherly Love'' (1981) (

Antilles Records Antilles Records was a record label founded as a division of Island Records. It began as a jazz label, recording Joanne Brackeen, Biréli Lagrène, and Phil Woods, though its catalogue did expand to include eclectic musicians like Brian Eno and Ro ...

) * ''Brothers and Others'' (1981) (

) * ''Dave's Haze'' (1997) (

Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists have ...

) * ''As We Were Saying'' (1997) (

) * ''Jazz Family'' (1998) (

) * ''Pat Metheny & The Heath Brothers: The Move to the Groove Session'' (2000) (West Wind) * ''Endurance'' (2009) (Jazz Legacy Productions)Joel Roberts
"Heath Brothers: Endurance (2009)"
All About Jazz, November 11, 2009.

Videography

* ''Brotherly Jazz'' (2006) (DanSun Productions)

References

External links

* *

Drummerworld.
A complete Heath Brothers discography on musicmatch.com.
*Jean-Michel Reisser

biographies and CD review of ''Brotherly Love'', Cosmopolis, September 1, 2008, in French.
Brotherly Jazz: The Heath Brothers DVD Documentary
* Patrick Jarenwattananon
"The Heath Brothers - Live at the Village Vanguard"
NPR Music, July 6, 2011. (Listen, 1:11:04.) {{Authority control American jazz ensembles from Pennsylvania Hard bop ensembles African-American musical groups Musical groups from Philadelphia Sibling musical groups Strata-East Records artists Columbia Records artists Antilles Records artists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Black & Blue Records artists