Albert Heath, a virtuoso jazz drummer who collaborated with luminaries such as John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Nina Simone and Herbie Hancock; He performed and recorded with his older brothers, Percy and Jimmy. He played with Percy for many years in the Modern Jazz Quartet, one of the great jazz ensembles, and died Wednesday in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He died at the age of 88.
His stepson, Curt Flood Jr., said the cause of his death at the hospital was leukemia.
Mr. Heath, known as Tootie, was primarily a bebop and hard bop drummer, but was adept in a variety of styles. In 2020, the National Endowment for the Arts named him a Jazz Master, an honor his brothers had previously received.
He received the news with a mixture of humility and confidence.
“I’m honored that they recognized me,” he told The Santa Fe New Mexican. “But that doesn’t mean anything because I always thought I was the master.”
Heath's career began with his family in Philadelphia. There, his father played clarinet in the Elks marching band, his mother sang in the church choir, and his brother Jimmy, a saxophonist, brought along members of his big band, including his fellow saxophonists. John Coltrane — To the Heaths' Home.
“They used to rehearse sections at my parents’ house, because it wasn’t big enough to accommodate a full band of about 18 pieces,” Mr. Heath said in a 2015 interview with the website All About Jazz. Therefore, one day the trumpet will come, and the next day the reed will come. The drummer and bassist were scheduled to be there for the third day.”
His career started early. In his teens, Tootie performed for a week at Philadelphia's Blue Note as part of a pickup ensemble supporting Thelonious Monk. Monk didn't tell the musicians what he wanted them to play.
“He never turned around and said hello,” Mr. Heath said in a 2021 NEA interview. “He never turned around and said, ‘Thank you,’ ‘Hello,’ ‘I didn’t like you,’ or ‘I liked you.’ He said things like, ‘You guys,’ but I’ve never seen him say a word to anyone on the microphone.”
In 1957, Coltrane met Mr. Coltrane at a club in Philadelphia. Working with Heath, pianist Red Garland and bassist Paul Chambers, he hired them for his first album as a leader, “Coltrane.”
For the next two years, Mr. Heath began a prolific career as a session musician, producing Mr. Garland (“Groovy”), and appeared on albums by saxophonist Cannonball Adderley (“Cannonball Takes Charge”). Coltrane (“Lush Life”) and Ms. Simone (“Little Girl Blue”).
He continued to play with trombonist JJ Johnson's band, and for a short time with the Jazztet, a sextet led by trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson.
Reviewing a Jazztet performance in San Francisco in 1961, Russ Wilson of The Oakland Tribune described Mr. Heath's drumming as “extraordinary.” He added, “In addition to quick hands and excellent rhythm, he possesses the good taste that characterizes a great drummer, as evidenced by his willingness to subordinate his own sound to that of the group.”
Mr. Heath left for Europe in 1965, where he lived in Sweden and Denmark for 10 years. He found more opportunities to perform there and in Western Europe than in the United States, where he had to confront his racism, Mr. Flood said in a phone interview. In Europe, Mr. Flood said, “I was treated like a rock star.”
He returned often enough to become a member of Hancock's sextet in the late 1960s and recorded two albums with him, “The Prisoner” and “Fat Albert Rotunda.”
In 1970, Mr. Heath released his first album as a leader, “Kawaida” (among the musicians accompanying him were Mr. Hancock and Jimmy Heath). Three years later he released another, “Kwanza (The First)”. His other albums include “Tootie's Tempo” (2013) and “Philadelphia Beat” (2014), featuring Ethan Iverson on piano and Ben Street on bass.
Albert William Heath was born in Philadelphia on May 31, 1935. His father, Percy Sr., was an automobile mechanic. His mother, Arlethia (Wall) Heath, was a hairdresser. His brother Jimmy, eight years older, was his first music teacher, but he also took lessons from Specs Wright, the drummer in Jimmy's band.
Albert, Jimmy and Percy occasionally played together, but formalized their partnership in 1975 when they formed the Heath Brothers, initially with Stanley Cowell on piano.
Their freewheeling brand of jazz was captured on several albums, including “Marchin' On” (1975), “Passin' Thru (1978)” and “Straight Ahead” (2009), released after Percy's death in 2005.
In a review of the brothers' performance on piano with Jeb Patton at the Village Vanguard in 2003, Ben Ratliff of The New York Times wrote: It represents the exact opposite of most drummers’ showcases, who never get loud.”
Albert joined the Modern Jazz Quartet, of which Percy was a founding member, in 1994 following the death of the quartet's longtime drummer, Connie Kay. He remained until the quartet disbanded in 1997.
In addition to Mr. Flood, Mr. Heath, who lived in Santa Fe, is survived by his wife, Beverly (Collins) Johnson Heath, who divorced baseball players Curt Flood and Richard Johnson; They later got married in 1976. Two sons, Jens Heath from his marriage to Anita Petersson (divorced 1974), and Jonas Liedberg from his relationship with Margaretta Liedberg. two stepdaughters, Shelly and Debbie Flood; another stepson, Scott Flood; a sister, Elizabeth Heath, nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
For the past 25 years, Mr. Heath is Mr. Iverson, Mr. Street, and led a trio with Whole Drum Truth, an all-drum ensemble comprised of rotating members.
“You have to pay attention to music from around the world that uses different drums,” Mr. Heath said in a 2020 interview with The New Mexican. “There are different types of folk music and music from different countries that drummers need to be sensitive to.” .”