About The Heath Brothers
Hometown
Philadelphia, PA, United States
Formed
1975
Genre
Jazz
Jimmy, Percy, and Albert "Tootie" Heath teamed up in 1975 to form the Heath Brothers. Until then, bassist Percy had been busy with the Modern Jazz Quartet, but with the group in "retirement" (temporarily, as it turned out), all three brothers were free to join forces. Originally a quartet with pianist Stanley Cowell but expanding after the addition of guitarist Tony Purrone and Jimmy's son Mtume on percussion, the band recorded on Strata East (1975), and recorded four albums on Columbia and two on Island. Tootie Heath left the group early on and was replaced by Akira Tana, although he came back for the final 1983 record. The Heath Brothers' music was essentially hard bop, but there were occasional departures into jazzy R&B on isolated selections. Albert "Tootie" Heath died on April 3, 2024, at the age of 88. ~ Scott Yanow
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