Albert “Tootie” Heath died on April 3 at a hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico. According to Beverly Heath, his wife, the cause of Mr. Heath’s death was leukemia.
Photo: Michael Jackson
Born on May 31, 1935, self-taught, with roots in the post-war bebop sound, Mr. Heath can be described as a jazz hard bop drummer. He got his nickname “Tootie” because of his love of tutti-frutti ice cream. His first recording was made with John Coltrane in 1957 (the album “Coltrane“). After that, he worked with the likes of Wes Montgomery, Art Farmer and Benny Golson, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock or Nina Simone, to name just a few. Between 1975 and 1978, he made history with the Heath Brothers, a group formed with his brothers Percy and Jimmy. Later, he was the producer and leader of the jazz drum ensemble The Whole Drum Truth.
Mr. Heath was also a regular instructor at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.
Sources:
https://downbeat.com/news/detail/drummer-albert-tootie-heath-dies-at-88
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Heath
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/04/06/tootie-heath-albert-drummer-jazz-dies/
