Percy Heath was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975.
11 Facts About Percy Heath
2.
Percy Heath was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States, and spent his childhood in Philadelphia.
3.
Percy Heath's father played the clarinet and his mother sang in the church choir.
4.
Percy Heath started playing violin at the age of eight and sang locally.
5.
Percy Heath was drafted into the Army in 1944, trained with the Tuskegee Airmen, graduating as a 2nd Lieutenant pilot, but saw no combat.
6.
When Brown left the group to join his wife Ella Fitzgerald's band, Percy Heath joined and the group was officially begun in 1952, with Connie Kay replacing Clarke, who left in January 1955.
7.
In 2003, at the age of 80, Percy Heath released his first album as a leader through the Daddy Jazz label.
8.
Percy Heath died, after a second bout with bone cancer, two days short of his 82nd birthday, in Southampton, New York.
9.
Percy Heath was an avid striped bass fisherman, and surfcaster, who could be found on many a day, along the surf line of his beloved Montauk Point.
10.
Percy Heath was well respected by the community, and his fellow fishermen.
11.
Percy Heath relished time away from the stage on his fishing boat, appropriately named "The Fiddler" kept in Montauk as well.