Catching Up With… Albert “Tootie” Heath The essence of jazz is evident on his latest, Philadelphia Beat—and that means swinging and searching. by Ken Micallef “Art Blakey always said, ‘It’s not what you play in between, it’s how you start and how you end a piece.’” Albert “Tootie” Heath, one of the few drummers to know the legendary Blakey as a young big band player, has lent his graceful rhythms to the music of Wes Montgomery, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Nina Simone, and other jazz greats in a career that spans fifty years. At a spry seventy-nine, Heath continues to evolve, as evidenced by his three records with Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson and renowned session bassist Ben Street. As with 2013’s Tootie’s Tempo, the recent Philadelphia Beat shows the trio following unusual paths as they swing down the house—from beat 1 to the final chorus. “These guys play the […]

August 2015 Issue