1. Jimmy Heath was the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath.
15 Facts About Jimmy Heath
2.
Jimmy Heath earned the nickname "Little Bird" after his work for Howard McGhee and Dizzy Gillespie in the late 1940s, during which his playing displayed influences from Charlie Parker.
3.
The band dissolved in 1949 so that Jimmy Heath could join Dizzy Gillespie's band.
4.
Jimmy Heath was arrested and convicted twice for the sale of heroin; he was an acknowledged addict.
5.
Jimmy Heath went cold turkey, and was able to spend a lot of his time engaged in music.
6.
Jimmy Heath was released early, on May 21,1959, and remained clean for the rest of his life; conditions of probation made it difficult, but he managed to start rebuilding his career.
7.
Jimmy Heath briefly joined Miles Davis's group in 1959, replacing Coltrane, and worked with Kenny Dorham and Gil Evans.
8.
In 1975, he and his brothers formed the Jimmy Heath Brothers, featuring pianist Stanley Cowell.
9.
Jimmy Heath served on the board of the Louis Armstrong Archives on campus, and the restoration and management of the Louis and Lucille Armstrong Residence in Corona, Queens, near his own home.
10.
Jimmy Heath notably played in a jazz concert at the White House, when President Bill Clinton borrowed his saxophone for one number.
11.
Jimmy Heath died on January 19,2020, in Loganville, Georgia, of natural causes.
12.
Jimmy Heath received a Grammy nomination for box-set liner notes of The Heavyweight Champion, John Coltrane, the Complete Atlantic Recordings, and Grammy nominations for Little Man Big Band and Live at the Public Theatre with The Heath Brothers.
13.
Jimmy Heath was a recipient of the 2003 NEA Jazz Masters Award.
14.
Jimmy Heath worked on over 100 albums and wrote more than 125 compositions.
15.
Jimmy Heath composed suites and string quartets, and a symphony, Three Ears, which premiered in 1988 at Queens College, with Maurice Peress conducting.