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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: 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, ...
read moreAlbert "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 jny: Philadelphia native extols hip-hop for its status in today's music world. On ...
read moreRemembering 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! ...
read moreClifford 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 ...
read moreGreg Skaff: Polaris
by C. Andrew Hovan
The pandemic year of 2020 brought with it very little in terms of artistic endeavors, thanks to lockdowns and stay home orders. Yet even under extreme conditions, guitarist Greg Skaff managed to commit to tape some genuinely sublime music that is sure to be remembered as one of 2021'a most memorable releases. Of course, Skaff has been at the forefront of modern jazz guitar since his first big break in the '80s working with the legendary Stanley Turrentine.
read moreDexter Gordon: Tokyo 1975
by Mike Jurkovic
Though in many regards a standard, none-too-frenetic quartet setting, Dexter Gordon Quartet Tokyo 1975 is still as grand a starting point for Elemental Music's inaugural launch of previously unreleased jazz performances as can be. Gordon found himself exuberantly liberated from the antiquated (and sadly all too present) prejudices of America during his fourteen-year expatriation to Europe from 1962 to '76. Working and living primarily in Paris and Copenhagen, Gordon gigged and recorded with visiting friends and fellow expats ...
read moreDexter Gordon Quartet: Tokyo 1975
by C. Michael Bailey
Elemental Music is a record label that can be uttered in the same breath with Omnivore Records and Resonance Records. These labels can be credited with significant additions to the universal jazz catalog. Near recent examples of unreleased performances put out by Elemental Music include: Art Pepper Live At Fat Tuesday's (2015) and Red Garland's Swingin' On The Korner: Live At Keystone Korner (2015), as well as Jimmy Giuffre: New York Concerts (2014). Elemental Music has since found ...
read moreToday'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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Albert Tootie Heath
Instrument: Drums
Born: May 31, 1935
Died: April 3, 2024
