Editing Jimmy Heath (section)

==Biography==
Heath was born in Philadelphia on October 25, 1926.<ref name=ALLMUSIC>[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p6707|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic biography]</ref> His father, an auto mechanic, played the clarinet, performing on the weekends. His mother sang in a church choir. The family frequently played recordings of big band jazz groups around the house. Heath's sister was a pianist, while his brothers were bassist [[Percy Heath]] (older) and drummer [[Albert Heath]] (his youngest sibling).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/19/535609079/jazz-saxophone-legend-jimmy-heath-has-died?t=1579512784581&t=1579620083012|title=Jazz Saxophone Legend Jimmy Heath Has Died|publisher=NPR|date=January 19, 2020|access-date=January 21, 2020}}</ref>

During World War II, Heath was rejected for the draft for being below the minimum weight.

Heath originally played [[alto saxophone]]. He earned the nickname "Little Bird" after his work for [[Howard McGhee]] and [[Dizzy Gillespie]] in the late 1940s, during which his playing displayed influences from [[Charlie Parker]] (Parker's nickname was "Bird"). He then switched to [[tenor saxophone]].<ref name="ALLMUSIC" />

From late 1945 through most of 1946, he performed with the [[Nat Towles]] band. In 1946, he formed his own band, which was a fixture on the Philadelphia jazz scene until 1949.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressdemocrat.com/entertainment/6996531-181/jazz-legend-jimmy-heath-stars|title=10 days of jazz at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival|date=May 25, 2017|website=Santa Rosa Press Democrat}}</ref> The band included [[John Coltrane]], [[Benny Golson]], [[Specs Wright]], [[Cal Massey]], [[Johnny Coles]], [[Ray Bryant]], and [[Nelson Boyd]]. [[Charlie Parker]] and [[Max Roach]] sat in on one occasion.<ref name="bluenote2">{{Cite web|title=Blue Note JIMMY HEATH BIG BAND - 2019-01-12|url=http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/schedule/moreinfo.cgi?id=16542|website=www.bluenote.net}}</ref> The band performed at venues such as the [[Apollo Theater]] in Harlem. Although Heath recalls that the band recorded a few demos on acetate, it never released any recordings, and its arrangements were lost at a Chicago train station. The band dissolved in 1949 so that Heath could join Dizzy Gillespie's band.<ref>Porter, Lewis. ''John Coltrane: His Life and Music'' Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999. {{ISBN|9780472101610}}.</ref><!-- I have searched the online copy of the Autobiography but cannot find complete support. Yes, he had them all in his band at one time or another, but they seem to overlap. Maybe someone with a print copy can verify, as not all the pages appear online. Thanks. -->

Heath was arrested and convicted twice for the sale of heroin; he was an acknowledged addict. The first time, in the spring of 1954, he was sent to the [[Federal Medical Center, Lexington]], Kentucky, where many musicians and celebrities (and other people) were given treatment.  After release, In early 1955, still an addict, he was arrested again, and served most of a six-year prison sentence in [[United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg|Lewisburg]].  He went cold turkey, and was able to spend a lot of his time engaged in music. While in prison he actually composed most of the [[Chet Baker]] and [[Art Pepper]] album ''[[Playboys (Chet Baker and Art Pepper album)|Playboys]]'' (1956).<ref name="ALLMUSIC" /> He was released early, on May 21, 1959, and remained clean for the rest of his life; conditions of probation made it difficult, but he managed to start rebuilding his career.<ref>{{Cite book|title=I Walked With Giants: The Autobiography of Jimmy Heath|last1=Heath|first1=Jimmy|last2=McLaren|first2=Joseph|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4399-0198-4|location=Philadelphia|pages=98–101}}</ref>

He briefly joined [[Miles Davis]]'s group in 1959, replacing Coltrane, and also worked with [[Kenny Dorham]] and [[Gil Evans]].<ref name="ALLMUSIC" /><ref name="wsj_2010-07-19" /> Heath recorded extensively as leader and sideman. During the 1960s, he frequently worked with [[Milt Jackson]] and [[Art Farmer]].<ref name="ALLMUSIC" />

In 1975, he and his brothers formed the [[Heath Brothers]], also featuring pianist [[Stanley Cowell]].<ref name="ALLMUSIC" />

Jimmy Heath composed "For Minors Only", "Picture of Heath", "Bruh' Slim", and "CTA" and recorded them on his 1975 album ''[[Picture of Heath]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/picture-of-heath-mw0001881017|title=Picture of Heath - Jimmy Heath {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=January 1, 2018}}</ref>

In the 1980s, Heath joined the faculty of the [[Aaron Copland School of Music]] at [[Queens College, City University of New York]].  With the rank of Professor, he led the creation of the Jazz Program at Queens College and attracted prominent musicians such as [[Donald Byrd]] to the campus. He also served on the board of the Louis Armstrong Archives on campus, and the restoration and management of the Louis and Lucille Armstrong Residence in [[Corona, Queens]], near his own home.<ref>Berman, Eleanor. [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06001/629777.stm "The jazz of Queens encompasses music royalty"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102055101/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06001/629777.stm |date=January 2, 2012 }}, ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'', January 1, 2006. Accessed October 1, 2009. "When the trolley tour proceeds, Mr. Knight points out the nearby Dorie Miller Houses, a co-op apartment complex in Corona where Clark Terry and Cannonball and Nat Adderley lived and where saxophonist Jimmy Heath still resides."</ref> In addition to teaching at Queens College for more than 20 years, he also taught at [[Jazzmobile]].<ref name="wsj_2010-07-19">{{cite news |title=A Jazz Colossus Steps Out  |first=Will |last=Friedwald |author-link=Will Friedwald |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704518904575366003370572496?KEYWORDS=jimmy+heath |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |publisher=[[Dow Jones & Company|Dow Jones & Co.]] |location=New York |issn= 0099-9660 |date=July 19, 2010 |access-date=July 20, 2010}}</ref>