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Albert Tootie Heath
The younger brother of Percy and Jimmy Heath, Albert "Tootie" Heath has long been a top hard bop-based drummer with an open mind toward more commercial styles of jazz. After moving to New York (1957), he debuted on record with John Coltrane.
Albert Heath was with J.J. Johnson's group (1958-1960) and the Jazztet (1960-1961), worked with the trios of Cedar Walton and Bobby Timmons in 1961, and recorded many records as a sideman for Riverside during that era. He lived in Europe in 1965- 1968 (working frequently with Kenny Drew, Dexter Gordon, and backing touring Americans), and, after returning to the U.S., he played regularly with Herbie Hancock's sextet (1968-1969) and Yusef Lateef (1970-1974). After an additional year in Europe, he joined the Heath Brothers band (1975-1978) and then settled in Los Angeles, where Tootie Heath continued freelancing, recording with the Riverside Reunion Band.
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Yusef Lateef: Alight Upon the Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase
by Pierre Giroux
Some nights vanish into the ether, while others wait, patiently, until the world is ready to hear them. Such is the case with Alight Upon the Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase. Resonance Records has released this adventurous 1975 recording as a limited-edition 180-gram 3-LP set and a 3-CD release, which feels less like an archival project than a living document. Yusef Lateef, ever the seeker, arrives here not merely as a saxophonist and flutist but as a guide through ...
Continue ReadingYusef Lateef: Alight Upon the Lake: Live at the Jazz Showcase
by Troy Dostert
One of the legendary figures of Detroit jazz, Yusef Lateef experienced a truly distinctive path of artistic development, with a trajectory which took him from swing, bebop and R&B in the 1940s and 1950s through a deep immersion in world music, funk and classical idioms during the 1960s and beyond. Somehow incorporating all of these disparate strands and more, Resonance Records' three-disc extravaganza, Alight Upon the Lake, gives us a thorough glimpse of Lateef's multifaceted identity in the company of ...
Continue ReadingYusef Lateef: Atlantis Lullaby - The Concert from Avignon
by Stefano Merighi
Tra gli outsider del jazz più prolifici, Yusef Lateef fino alla scomparsa (a 93 anni nel 2013) ha continuato a comporre, incidere, sempre evitando con gentilezza di essere accostato alla parola jazz, inventando invece il termine “autophysiopsychic" per descrivere una musica che fin dagli anni Cinquanta ha messo in contatto molto seriamente la cultura asiatica con quella afro-americana (Lateef ha soggiornato quattro anni in Nigeria negli anni Settanta), lontano dall'industra musicale, vicino invece alla didattica e creativamente proteso verso la ...
Continue ReadingYusef Lateef: Atlantis Lullaby - The Concert From Avignon
by Pierre Giroux
Yusef Lateef's performance in Atlantis Lullaby is a masterclass in communication and demonstration of synergy. In this previously unreleased performance recorded in Avignon, France in 1972, Lateef, on soprano sax, tenor sax and flute, is accompanied by Kenny Barron on piano, Bob Cunningham on bass and Albert “Tootie" Heath on drums. This two-CD package is being released by Elemental Music and produced for release by Zev Feldman. It contains a 23-page booklet with stories and reminiscences about Lateef from Feldman, ...
Continue ReadingAlbert "Tootie" Heath: Class Personified
by R.J. DeLuke
This article was first published on All About Jazz on March 9, 2015. Albert “Tootie" Heath is among the drummers who lived--and thrived--during what many call the golden age of jazz, the '40s, '50, early '60s. He's enjoyed the fruits of a varied and historic career, but never stayed put. Just kept working. He admires the musicians of today and the direction of jazz. The Philadelphia native extols hip-hop for its status in today's music world. On the ...
Continue ReadingRemembering Albert 'Tootie' heath
by Ian Patterson
Drumming great Albert 'Tootie' Heath played with a who's who of jazz greats, from John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins to Wes Montgomery and Nina Simone. He recorded all too infrequently as a leader, probably because he was so in demand for other people's projects. This clip from the 2014 Chicago Jazz Festival finds Heath in the company of Ethan Iverson and Ben Street paying tribute to Thelonious Monk. Bye-ya Tootie, and thank you! ...
Continue ReadingClifford Jordan: These Are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly
by Chris May
These Are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly is an oft overlooked item in the canon of tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, whose chef d'oeuvre was undoubtedly Glass Bead Games (Strata-East, 1974), one of the most exalted jazz albums of its era. But These Are My Roots, which was originally released on Atlantic in 1965 and has in 2021 been reissued on vinyl by British audiophile label Pure Pleasure, is of more than passing interest. The hard bop ...
Continue ReadingToday's Top Artists Gather On-stage for Giants of Jazz at SOPAC on October 1
Source:
AMT Public Relations
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2011 at 9:00PM SOUTH ORANGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (1 SOPAC Way, South Orange, NJ, 07079) About Giants of Jazz The New York Times called it the “premier (jazz) festival in the state." Zan Stewart, jazz critic for the Star Ledger states it ..."is easily one of the top jazz show of the year...anywhere." In 1998, the cream of the jazz world came to take part in Giants of Jazz, an amazing standing-room-only performance. Now in its thirteenth ...
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"Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Jazz" with Jimmy Heath, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Joey DeFrancesco, Pat Martino, and more!
Source:
All About Jazz
Celebrating Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Jazz
Featuring: Jimmy Heath, Albert “Tootie" Heath, Joey DeFrancesco, Pat Martino, Duane Eubanks, Buster Williams and other special guest artists
March 10 & 11, 2006 - Rose Theater
New York, NY--The City of Philadelphia is rich in jazz history and home to many of the jazz greats. Jazz at Lincoln Center celebrates Philly's contributions to the art form on March 10 & 11, 2006 at 8:00pm in Rose Theater with Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Jazz. ...
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Albert Tootie Heath
Instrument: Drums
Born: May 31, 1935
Died: April 3, 2024
