Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Vocalist Andy Bey Dies at 85
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Bassist Percy Heath, saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath—collectively known as the Heath Brothers—are the subject of a new documentary DVD, Brotherly Jazz . Producer Danny Scher and director Jesse Block compiled concert footage of the brothers along with interviews, archival material and footage of their work with such musicians as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
“It’s a great honor to have something documented on the family, especially now that Percy is gone,” Jimmy Heath said. “Coming from the same source is a unique happening. Whenever wer performed, we always showed the audience that we were a family. All of us played with everybody over the years, but when we played together, it was a happy feeling.”
Other musicians interviewed in the film include Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride and Marian McPartland. The DVD also includes a July 2004 concert, which was one of the last times that the Heath brothers shared a concert stage before Percy Heath’s death in April 2005.
For more information go to: brotherlyjazz.com
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
“Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”
May 20, 2025 11:58 AM
Branford Marsalis was on the road again. Coffee cup in hand, the saxophonist — sporting a gray hoodie and a look of…
“What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.
May 13, 2025 12:39 PM
Part of the jazz vibraphone conversation since her late teens, Sasha Berliner has long come across as a fully formed…
Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.
May 27, 2025 6:21 PM
Arts for Art has announced the full lineup for the 2025 Vision Festival, which will run June 2–7 at Roulette…
