Happy Birthday Greetings James (Jimmy) Edward Heath
🍾James (Jimmy) Edward Heath was born on October 25, 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger and band leader was the brother of bassist Percy Heath (older) and drummer Albert Heath (the youngest). He was a recipient of the 2003 NEA Jazz Masters Award.
Jimmy was so astute at playing his first instrument, the alto saxophone, many a musician named him “Little Bird” which referred to his similar playing style as that of the great Charlie Parker (his nickname was Bird). Not wanting to be a Parker shadow, Jimmy switched to tenor saxophone. In 1975, he and two brothers formed the Heath Brothers. During his career, Heath performed on more than 100 albums, including seven with the Heath Brothers and 12 as a leader. He penned more than 125 compositions — many of which have become jazz standards such as “Gingerbread Boy.” Aside from his many big band arrangements, the saxophonist composed seven suites and two string quartets.
The prodigious music tradition of the Heath brothers as musicians and composers is carried on by Heath’s son percussionist, songwriter and producer James Mtume. Mtume was a member of the historic Miles Davis fusion band in the early 1970s. Subsequently, he crossed over to R&B; forming hid namesake band Mtume. The group’s biggest single hit on the Epic Records label was “Juicy Fruit” that hit number one on Billboard’s 1983 Hot 100 chart.
Following in his father’s steps as a composer, Mtume and his co-writing partner Reggie Lucas, won a 1980 Grammy Award for Stephane Mills‘ hit single “Never Knew Love Like This Before”; and they followed up with Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway hits “The Closer I Get To You” and “Back Together Again,”. Heath’s musical tradition flows through Mtume, his protegee saxophonist Antonio Hart and the many students he taught at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College,
Jimmy Heath: Interview at the Pianoatelier | WDR BIG BAND Jimmy Heath & WDR BIG BAND – Bruh Slim Photo: John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons