Editing Percy Heath

{{Short description|American jazz bassist (1923–2005)}}
{{other people}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2024}}
{{use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Percy Heath
| image            = Percy Heath.jpg
| caption          = Heath in New York City, 1977
| background       = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_place      = {{nowrap|[[Wilmington, North Carolina]], U.S.}}
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1923|4|30}}
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2005|4|28|1923|4|30}}
| death_place      = [[Southampton, New York]], U.S.
| genre            = {{hlist|[[Jazz]]|[[cool jazz]]}}
| occupation       = Musician
| instrument       = Double bass
| years_active     = 1940s–2003
| past_member_of   = {{hlist|[[The Modern Jazz Quartet]]|[[Heath Brothers]]}}
| module           = {{Infobox person
| embed            = yes
| relatives        = {{ubl|[[Jimmy Heath]] (brother)|[[Albert Heath]] (brother)}}
}}
}}

'''Percy Heath''' (April 30, 1923<ref name="LarkinJazz">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-580-8|page=196}}</ref> &ndash; April 28, 2005)<ref name="AMG"/> was an American [[jazz]] bassist, brother of saxophonist [[Jimmy Heath]] and drummer [[Albert Heath]], with whom he formed the [[Heath Brothers]] in 1975. Heath played with the [[Modern Jazz Quartet]] throughout their long history and also worked with [[Miles Davis]], [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Charlie Parker]], [[Wes Montgomery]], [[Thelonious Monk]] and [[Lee Konitz]].

==Biography==
Heath was born in [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], United States, and spent his childhood in [[Philadelphia]].<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> His father played the [[clarinet]] and his mother sang in the church choir. He started playing [[violin]] at the age of eight and also sang locally. He was drafted into the [[U. S. Army|Army]] in 1944, trained with the [[Tuskegee Airmen]], graduating as a 2nd Lieutenant pilot,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.tuskegee.edu/support-tu/tuskegee-airmen/tuskegee-airmen-pilot-listing| title = Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Listing| publisher = Tuskegee University| access-date = 2023-01-19}}</ref> but saw no combat.<ref name="AMG"/>

Deciding after the war to go into music, he bought a stand-up bass and enrolled in the [[Granoff School of Music]] in Philadelphia.<ref name="AMG"/> Soon he was playing in the city's jazz clubs with leading artists.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> In Chicago in 1948, he recorded with his brother on a [[Milt Jackson]] album, as members of the [[Howard McGhee]] Sextet.<ref name="LarkinJazz"/><ref name="jazzdisco">[http://www.jazzdisco.org/milt-jackson/catalog/ Milt Jackson discography]. ''The Howard McGhee Sextet with Milt Jackson'' – [[Howard McGhee]], [[Jimmy Heath]], [[Milt Jackson]], [[Will Davis (musician)|Will Davis]], Percy Heath, Joe Harris, (Savoy MG 12026)</ref> After moving to New York in the late 1940s, Percy and Jimmy Heath found work with [[Dizzy Gillespie]]'s groups.<ref name="AMG"/> Around this time, Percy was also a member of [[Joe Morris (trumpeter)|Joe Morris]]'s band, together with [[Johnny Griffin]].

It transpired that other members of the Gillespie [[big band]], pianist [[John Lewis (pianist)|John Lewis]], drummer [[Kenny Clarke]], Milt Jackson, and bassist [[Ray Brown (musician)|Ray Brown]], decided to form a permanent group; they were already becoming known for their interludes during Gillespie band performances that, as AllMusic.com stated, gave the rest of the band much-needed set breaks – that would eventually become known as the [[Modern Jazz Quartet]] (MJQ).<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> When Brown left the group to join his wife [[Ella Fitzgerald]]'s band, Heath joined and the group was officially begun in 1952, with [[Connie Kay]] replacing Clarke, who left in January 1955. The MJQ played regularly until it disbanded in 1974;<ref name="AMG"/> it reformed in 1981 and last recorded in 1993.

In 1975, Percy Heath and his brothers formed the [[Heath Brothers]] with pianist [[Stanley Cowell]].<ref name="LarkinJazz"/> Percy would sometimes play the [[cello]] instead of the bass in these later performances.

As a sideman, he performed on approximately 300 recording dates in a career of more than 57 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://brotherlyjazz.com/|title=BROTHERLY JAZZ / THE HEATH BROTHERS DVD|website=Brotherlyjazz.com|access-date=July 28, 2021}}</ref>

In 1989, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from [[Berklee College of Music]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eu.ocala.com/story/news/2005/05/12/jazz-bassist-percy-heath-succumbs-to-cancer/31334254007/|title=Jazz bassist Percy Heath succumbs to cancer|author=Frank Grace|website=Ocala.com|date=May 12, 2005|access-date=May 22, 2024}}</ref>

In 2003, at the age of 80, Heath released his first album as a leader through the Daddy Jazz label.<ref name="AMG"/> The album, entitled ''A Love Song'', garnered rave reviews and served as a fitting coda for his illustrious career. It featured brother Albert Heath on drums, bassist [[Peter Washington]] and pianist Jeb Patton.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-love-song-mw0000327714|title=A Love Song - Percy Heath &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=July 28, 2021}}</ref>

Percy Heath died, after a second bout with [[bone cancer]], two days short of his 82nd birthday, in [[Southampton (town), New York|Southampton]], New York.<ref name="AMG">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/percy-heath-mn0000256575/biography|title=Percy Heath &#124; Biography & History|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=July 28, 2021}}</ref> The month after his death, bassist [[William Parker (musician)|William Parker]] recorded the tribute album ''[[For Percy Heath]]''.

Heath was an avid striped bass fisherman, and surfcaster, who could be found on many a day, along the surf line of his beloved [[Montauk Point]]. He was well respected by the community, and his fellow fishermen. He also relished time away from the stage on his fishing boat, appropriately named "The Fiddler", kept in Montauk as well. On May 27, 2006, a plaque was set into a 5,000lb stone, at Turtle Cove, at Montauk Point, as a memorial. The ceremony was attended by his wife, June, and three sons.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.northshoreoflongisland.com/Articles-i-2008-03-06-70226.112114_A_tribute_to_Long_Island_legend_Percy_Heath.html |title=A tribute to Long Island legend Percy Heath |access-date=2012-01-19 |archive-date=2012-09-04 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120904071551/http://www.northshoreoflongisland.com/Articles-i-2008-03-06-70226.112114_A_tribute_to_Long_Island_legend_Percy_Heath.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Discography==
[[File:珀西·希斯紀念碑.jpg|thumb|Memorial of Percy Heath in [[Hamptons]]]]
===As leader===
*''A Love Song'' (2003), with Jeb Patton (piano), Peter Washington (bass), Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums)

===As a member of the [[Modern Jazz Quartet]]===
* ''[[Vendome (album)|Vendome]]'' (1952, Prestige 851)
* ''[[Modern Jazz Quartet, ii]]'' (1954–5, Prestige 170), including "[[Django (composition)|Django]]" (1954)
* ''[[Concorde (album)|Concorde]]'' (1955, Prestige 7005)
* ''[[Fontessa]]'' (1956, Atlantic 1231), including "Versailles"
* ''[[The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays No Sun in Venice]]'' (Atlantic, 1957)
* ''[[The Modern Jazz Quartet (1957 album)|The Modern Jazz Quartet]]'' (Atlantic, 1957)
* ''[[Third Stream Music]]'' (1957, 1959–60, Atlantic. 1345), including "Sketch for Double String Quartet" (1959)
* ''[[The Modern Jazz Quartet and the Oscar Peterson Trio at the Opera House]]'' (Verve, 1957)
* ''[[The Modern Jazz Quartet at Music Inn Volume 2]]'' (Atlantic, 1958)
* ''[[Music from Odds Against Tomorrow]]'' (United Artists, 1959)
* ''[[Pyramid (Modern Jazz Quartet album)|Pyramid]]'' (Atlantic, 1960)
* ''[[European Concert]]'' (Atlantic, 1960 [1962])
* ''[[Dedicated to Connie]]'' (Atlantic, 1960 [1995])
* ''[[The Modern Jazz Quartet & Orchestra]]'' (Atlantic, 1960)
* ''[[The Comedy (album)|The Comedy]]'' (1962, Atlantic 1390)
* ''[[Lonely Woman (album)|Lonely Woman]]'' (Atlantic, 1962)
* ''[[A Quartet is a Quartet is a Quartet]]'' (1963, Atlantic 1420)
* ''[[Collaboration (Modern Jazz Quartet and Laurindo Almeida album)|Collaboration]]'' (Atlantic, 1964), with [[Laurindo Almeida]]
* ''[[The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess]]'' (Atlantic, 1964–65)
* ''[[Jazz Dialogue]]'' (Atlantic, 1965), with the All-Star Jazz Band
* ''[[Concert in Japan '66]]'' (Atlantic [Japan], 1966)
* ''[[Blues at Carnegie Hall]]'' (Atlantic, 1966)
* ''[[Place Vendôme (Swingle Singers with MJQ album)|Place Vendôme]]'' (Philips, 1966), with [[The Swingle Singers]]
* ''[[Under the Jasmin Tree]]'' (Apple, 1968)
* ''[[Space (Modern Jazz Quartet album)|Space]]'' (Apple, 1969)
* ''[[Plastic Dreams (album)|Plastic Dreams]]'' (Atlantic, 1971)
* ''The Only Recorded Performance of Paul Desmond With The Modern Jazz Quartet'' (Finesse/Columbia, 1971 [1981]), with [[Paul Desmond]]
* ''[[The Legendary Profile]]'' (Atlantic, 1972)
* ''[[In Memoriam (Modern Jazz Quartet album)|In Memoriam]]'' (Little David, 1973)
* ''[[Blues on Bach]]'' (Atlantic, 1973)
* ''[[The Complete Last Concert|The Last Concert]]'' (Atlantic, 1974)
* ''[[Reunion at Budokan 1981]]'' (Pablo, 1981)
* ''[[Together Again: Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival '82]]'' (Pablo, 1982)
* ''[[Echoes (Modern Jazz Quartet album)|Echoes]]'' (Pablo, 1984)
* ''[[Topsy: This One's for Basie]]'' (Pablo, 1985)
* ''[[Three Windows]]'' (Atlantic, 1987)
* ''[[For Ellington]]'' (East West, 1988)
* ''[[MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration]]'' (Atlantic, 1992–93)

===As sideman (partial list)===
'''With [[Cannonball Adderley]]'''
*''[[Know What I Mean]]'' with [[Bill Evans]] (Riverside, 1961)
'''With [[Nat Adderley]]'''
*''[[Work Song (Nat Adderly album)|Work Song]]'' (Riverside, 1960)
'''With [[Paul Bley]]'''
*''[[Paul Bley (album)|Paul Bley]]'' (EmArcy, 1954)
'''With [[Clifford Brown]]'''
* ''[[New Star on the Horizon]]'' (Blue Note, 1953)
'''With [[Ruth Brown]]''' 
*''[[Miss Rhythm]]'' (Atlantic, 1959)
'''With [[Kenny Clarke]]'''
*''[[Telefunken Blues]]'' (Savoy, 1955)
'''With [[Miles Davis]]'''
*''[[Bags' Groove]]'' (Prestige, 1954)
*''[[Walkin']]'' (Prestige, 1954)
*''[[Blue Haze]]'' (Prestige, 1954)
*''[[Miles Davis Volume 1]]'' (Blue Note, 1955)
*''[[Miles Davis Volume 2]]'' (Blue Note, 1955)
*''[[Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants]]'' (Prestige, 1958)
*''[[Miles Davis at Newport 1955–1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4]]'' (Columbia Legacy, 2015)
'''With [[Paul Desmond]]'''
*''[[First Place Again]]'' (Wartner Bros., 1959)
*''[[Easy Living (Paul Desmond album)|Easy Living]]'' (RCA Victor, 1963–65 [1966])
'''With [[Art Farmer]]'''
*''[[Early Art]]'' (New Jazz, 1954)
*''[[The Art Farmer Septet]]'' Prestige, 1953–54)
*''[[When Farmer Met Gryce]]'' (Prestige, 1954), with [[Gigi Gryce]]
*''[[Brass Shout]]'' (United Artists, 1959) 
'''With [[Stan Getz]]'''
*''[[Stan Getz Quartets]]'' (Prestige, 1949–50 [1955])
'''With [[Dizzy Gillespie]]'''
*''[[Dee Gee Days: The Savoy Sessions]]'' (Savoy, 1951–52 [1976])
*''[[Dizzy and Strings]]'' (Norgran, 1954)
*''[[The Bop Session]]'' (Sonet, 1975), with [[Sonny Stitt]], [[John Lewis (pianist)|John Lewis]], [[Hank Jones]] and [[Max Roach]]
'''With [[Benny Golson]]'''
*''[[Benny Golson and the Philadelphians]]'' (United Artists, 1958)
'''With [[Dexter Gordon]]'''
*''[[Gotham City (album)|Gotham City]]'' (Columbia, 1980 [1981])
'''With [[Urbie Green]]'''
*''[[Blues and Other Shades of Green]]'' (ABC-Paramount, 1955)
'''With [[Albert Heath]]'''
*''[[Kwanza (The First)]]'' (Muse, 1973)
'''With [[Jimmy Heath]]'''
*''[[Really Big!]]'' (Riverside, 1960)
*''[[The Quota (Jimmy Heath album)|The Quota]]'' (Riverside, 1961)
*''[[Triple Threat (Jimmy Heath album)|Triple Threat]]'' (Riverside, 1962)
*''[[Swamp Seed]]'' (Riverside, 1963)
'''With [[Elmo Hope]]'''
*''[[Trio and Quintet]]'' (Blue Note, 1953–54)
*''[[Homecoming!]]'' (Riverside, 1961)
'''With [[Milt Jackson]]'''
*''[[Meet Milt Jackson]]'' (Savoy, 1954)
*''[[Milt Jackson Quartet]]'' (Prestige, 1955)
*''[[Ballads & Blues (Milt Jackson album)|Ballads & Blues]]'' (Atlantic, 1956)
*''[[Plenty, Plenty Soul]]'' (Atlantic, 1957)
*''[[Bags & Flutes]]'' (Atlantic, 1957)
'''With [[J. J. Johnson]]'''
*''[[J Is for Jazz]]'' (Columbia, 1956)
'''With [[Duke Jordan]]'''
*''[[Duke Jordan Trio and Quintet]]'' (Signal, 1955)
;with [[Lee Konitz]]
*''[[Lee Konitz at Storyville]]'' (Storyville, 1954)
'''With [[John Lewis (pianist)|John Lewis]]'''
*''[[The Modern Jazz Society Presents a Concert of Contemporary Music]]'' (Norgran, 1955)
*''[[Grand Encounter]]'' (Pacific Jazz, 1956)
*''[[Afternoon in Paris (album)|Afternoon in Paris]]'' (Atlantic, 1957), with [[Sacha Distel]]
*''[[The John Lewis Piano]]'' (Atlantic, 1957)
'''With [[Howard McGhee]]'''
*''[[Howard McGhee and Milt Jackson]]'' (Savoy, 1948 [1955]), with Milt Jackson
*''[[The Return of Howard McGhee]]'' (Bethlehem, 1955)
'''With [[Wes Montgomery]]'''
*''[[The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery]]'' (Riverside, 1960)
'''With [[Sonny Rollins]]'''
*''[[Sonny Rollins at Music Inn/Teddy Edwards at Falcon's Lair|Sonny Rollins at Music Inn]]'' (MetroJazz, 1958)
'''With [[Michel Sardaby]]''' 
*''Night Cap'' (Sound Hills, 1970)
'''With [[Zoot Sims]]'''
*''[[The Brothers (album)|The Brothers]]'' (Prestige, 1949)
'''With [[Kai Winding]]'''
*''[[Jay and Kai]]'' (Columbia, 1957)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041011040158/http://www.nea.gov/national/jazz/masterbios/percyheath.html National Endowment for the Arts - NEA Jazz Masters biography]
* [http://www.brotherlyjazz.com Brotherly Jazz: The Heath Brothers DVD Documentary]

{{Tuskegee Airmen|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Percy}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American double-bassists]]
[[Category:African-American aviators]]
[[Category:American jazz double-bassists]]
[[Category:American male double-bassists]]
[[Category:American male jazz musicians]]
[[Category:Bebop double-bassists]]
[[Category:Cool jazz double-bassists]]
[[Category:Deaths from bone cancer in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Hard bop double-bassists]]
[[Category:Heath Brothers members]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Military personnel from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Modern Jazz Quartet members]]
[[Category:People from Wilmington, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Singers from North Carolina]]
[[Category:NEA Jazz Masters]]