lrossmusic Posted April 28, 2005 Share Posted April 28, 2005 Well unfortunately we've lost another legendary jazz bassist. Unlike Niels though Percy Heath lived a relatively long life and would have been 82 on Saturday. (from American Music Guide) Percy Heath The oldest of the three Heath Brothers, Percy Heath's association with the Modern Jazz Quartet was the dominant activity of his career. An excellent soloist and a perfect accompanist with an appealing tone, Heath (who grew up in Philadelphia) was originally a violinist. He switched to bass in 1946, was soon playing locally, and the following year he moved to New York with brother Jimmy to join Howard McGhee's band. Heath played with the who's who of bop (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro, Miles Davis, and J.J. Johnson) in various settings and recordings. In 1951, he joined Milt Jackson's Quartet which, in 1952, became the Modern Jazz Quartet. For the next 23 years, the MJQ toured and recorded constantly. After its temporary breakup, Percy joined Jimmy and Tootie in the Heath Brothers Band (1975-1982), going back to the MJQ (where he remained a key member) when they regrouped in the early '80s. Strangely enough, Percy Heath never led a record date of his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblue1 Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 RIP to a great bassist. I saw MJQ with the Kronos Quartet many years ago and it was a wonderful show. Percy Heath will certainly be missed. bookmark these: news.google.com | m-w dictionary | wikipedia encyclopedia | Columbia Encyclopedia TK Major / one blue nine | myspace.com/onebluenine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Shame, shame. I've been listening quite a bit to Interplay, a Bill Evans quintet record with Percy and Jim Hall, Freddy Hubbard and Philly Joe Jones. Sorry to hear about this. Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoLights Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 I saw bim...along with his brothers...perform at a jazz festival in Cape May, NJ acouple of years ago. We snuck backstage and chatted with them all... what a wonderful guy. As he walked on stage, he clearly looked like an old man... but once he started playing...all of a sudden...he was ageless, and just as good as ever. When you think that he played with ALL the legendary jazz guys... he will be missed. _______________________________________________ Kurzweil PC4; Yamaha P515; EV ZXA1s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Oh no... RIP Percy. One of the last remaining links to so much jazz history has been lost. My most sincere condolences to Jimmy and Albert for losing a brother. It's coming to an end of an era, unfortunately. Crazy. The most depressing thing is that not many people know who these people are anymore. Percy only just recorded his only album as a leader, "A Love Song." I haven't heard it, but he was quoted as saying he didn't care whether he was a leader or not, he still felt the same pressure to perform well. RIP Percy. David My Site Nord Electro 5D, Novation Launchkey 61, Logic Pro X, Mainstage 3, lots of plugins, fingers, pencil, paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iLaw Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Terry Gross at NPR did an extensive interview back in 1984 that was replayed on Fresh Air this morning. I was just at the NPR web site and it said that the audio would be available later today. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4624695 In the interview Percy talks at length about growing up and playing in Philadelphia, getting drafted as a fighter pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen, moving to New York, playing with Parker, his years with MJQ, and on and on. It's worth a listen if they get it up on the web site and you haven't heard it already. Larry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarkus Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Great Bassist and great LI Bass Fisherman. Montauk surf will miss his Red Finn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 he was amazing http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted April 29, 2005 Share Posted April 29, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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