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“Jimmy Heath’s 80th Birthday Celebration”The Heath BrothersWednesday, October 25 • 7:30pm“The Philly dynasty [of the Heath Brothers] is what you want to hear—family values with fire, yet cooler than cool.” —Village Voice Program NotesThe Heath Brothers (Jimmy, Tootie, and the late Percy) began performing under their family name in 1975, but the Philly dynasty’s contributions to jazz stretch back to the days of bebop. Tonight’s performance is an extra-special commemoration of that vital legacy, as it takes place on middle-brother Jimmy’s 80th birthday.
Originally an altoist with Howard McGhee and Dizzy Gillespie’s big band, Jimmy Heath switched to tenor saxophone in the late ‘50s and made a name for himself as a hard bop composer and arranger. A longtime jazz educator, Jimmy was named an N.E.A. Jazz Master in 2003, an honor shared by his older brother Percy, the longtime Modern Jazz Quartet bassist who passed in 2005.
The youngest Heath, Albert (more commonly known as “Tootie”) made his recorded debut on John Coltrane’s 1957 album Lush Life and continued to be an in-demand drummer for the likes of Cedar Walton, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, and Yusef Lateef. He is also a founder and member of The Whole Drum Truth percussion ensemble, which brings together luminaries like Ben Riley, Ed Thigpen, Ben Riley, and others in a celebration of jazz’s heartbeat.
To add to the festivities, Jimmy and Tootie are joined on stage tonight by exciting young trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. A hard bop torchbearer, Pelt has topped the DownBeat Critics Poll “Rising Star Trumpeter” category four years straight and has earned the praise of esteemed critic Nat Hentoff, who gushed that “it is the beat of Jeremy Pelt’s heart that…underscores the future of jazz.”
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Three Embarcadero Center, Lobby Level, San Francisco, CA 94111 • 415-398-5655 • Contact SFJAZZ