It’s fitting that the Heath brothers, Percy, Jimmy and Albert, grew up in Philadelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love."
The eldest was bassist Percy, a founding member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Then there was saxophonist Jimmy, a few years younger than Percy and nicknamed "Little Bird" for his dexterous playing akin to Charlie Parker. And on the drums was Albert — the youngest of the three by about a decade.
With encouragement from Jimmy and Percy, Albert started to learn the drums in his high school’s band and from his brothers' bandmates. He took lessons from revered drummer Charles "Specs" Wright. He joined Jimmy’s band which included including Ray Bryant, Benny Golson, and John Coltrane.
After many jam sessions in their mother's living room, and developing his skills around South Philly, Jimmy and Percy encouraged Albert to head to New York — the epicenter of jazz artistry and industry in the mid-1950s.
His first time on record was with the exuberant saxophonist Coltrane, on his self-titled debut album in 1957. In that same year, Albert was with Nina Simone for her debut album Little Girl Blue.
Albert and his brother Percy connected as the rhythm section behind guitarist Wes Montgomery for his 1960 album The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery.
Albert also had sessions with Cannonball Adderley, McCoy Tyner and Milt Jackson. He also recorded pretty regularly on some of Jimmy’s albums as a leader.
In the early 1960s, Albert spent time in free jazz circles and lived abroad in Sweden and Denmark with trumpeter Don Cherry. When he returned to the states in the late '60s, he connected with pianist and composer Herbie Hancock on the album Fat Albert Rotunda, a record that was an early signal of Hancock's transition to an expansive electric sound.
Albert’s debut as a leader featured the monumental piano player too - released under their African names Kuumba-Toudie Heath and Mwandishi. In a 2020 podcast interview, Albert said it was his nephew, James Mtume, who gave them their African names and stoked their interest in the homeland.
He also spent time with Yusef Lateef the revered spiritual saxophonist and flute player. Albert said Lateef influenced him a lot, one reasons was that Lateef insisted that his band members bring original compositions to the band. He recorded with Lateef on the Gentle Giant in 1971.
In 1975, after playing together sporadically through the years, Albert, Percy and Jimmy came together to form the Heath Brothers band. Together with piano player Stanley Cowell, they created sounds that were progressive and remarkably palatable at the same time. They emphasized original composition and African rhythms, and a creative sound that pushed against commercial expectations. The brothers' band continued until the death of Percy in 2005.
In the '90s, one of the Heath Brothers’ songs, “The Smilin’ Billy Suite,” was sampled by Q-Tip on “One Love,” from the legendary hip-hop record Illmatic by Nas.
After the death of longtime drummer Connie Kay in 1994, Albert joined his brother Percy in the Modern Jazz Quartet, alongside Milt Jackson and John Lewis. He recorded with them for the band's 40th anniversary.
Albert also gave back to the community surrounding the music. He began the multi-generational percussion ensemble The Whole Drum Truth and taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He recorded with the latest generation of jazz musicians including Emmet Cohen, Ethan Iverson, Ben Street, Willie Jones III, and drummer Kenny Washington.
Named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2021, Albert passed away due to leukemia at 88 years old. Joining his brothers Jimmy and Percy in the great beyond, Albert "Tootie" Heath leaves behind a legacy of music not soon forgotten.
