Percy Heath

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Percy Heath was born in 1923 in Wilmington, North Carolina, and grew up in Philadelphia. He was an American jazz bassist and the brother of the saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the drummer Albert Heath. His father played clarinet and his mother sang in the church choir. Percy began on violin at the age of eight. In 1944 he joined the army and trained with the Tuskegee Airmen, where he graduated as a second lieutenant and pilot, although he never saw action. After the war he chose music, bought a double bass and attended the Granoff School of Music in Philadelphia. Before long he was playing in the city's jazz clubs with leading musicians.

Music and breakthrough

In the late 1940s he moved to New York, and he and his brother Jimmy worked in the groups of Dizzy Gillespie. Members of Gillespie's big band, among them the pianist John Lewis, the drummer Kenny Clarke and the vibraphonist Milt Jackson, decided there to form a permanent group. When the bassist Ray Brown left, Heath joined, and in 1952 the Modern Jazz Quartet officially began, with Connie Kay replacing Clarke from 1955. The quartet played until 1974, reunited in 1981 and recorded for the last time in 1993.

Influence

Heath also played with Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk and Lee Konitz. In 1975 he formed the Heath Brothers with his brothers and the pianist Stanley Cowell. There he sometimes played cello instead of bass. He died in 2005.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 2004A Love Song
• 2021What You're Waiting For

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• After Hours: Session 2^NL Reader