On June 28, 2024 at 8 PM, Flushing Town Hall will present The Queens Jazz Orchestra – A Concert for “Tootie” Heath. The event pays tribute to the late jazz luminary, Albert “Tootie” Heath, who passed away last April 3, just shy of 90 years-old.
Albert “Tootie” Heath was the last living Heath Brother, America’s most prominent jazz siblings who were all recipients of the title NEA Jazz Master, the nation’s highest honor in jazz. Tootie was the drummer with drummer of his family band and later with the Modern Jazz Quartet. He performed with some of the most prolific and best-known musicians in jazz, starting with Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. Tootie was the drummer for Nina Simone’s first album, Little Girl Blue, and also played with virtuosos such as J.J. Johnson, Herbie Hancock, Benny Golson, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Cannonball Adderley, Ethan Iverson, and Wes Montgomery.
In 2018, Tootie received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz Foundation of America for his exceptional musical career and work as an educator. Beyond performing, he dedicated his life to clinics, workshops. For over 30 years, he was an instructor at the Stanford Jazz Workshop summer camps and played at colleges and universities nationwide.
Founded in 2008, Queens Jazz Orchestra (QJO) is a 17-piece orchestra dedicated to preserving the heritage of jazz in Queens and nurturing the next generations of great jazz musicians. It is a project of Flushing Town Hall and was the brainchild of Tootie’s brother, Jimmy Heath, and Flushing Town Hall’s Jazz Producer, Clyde Bullard. Tootie and his brothers performed at the Town Hall several times and will be honored “with him in mind and with love” in the upcoming concert and pre-show event to “share favorite memories of Tootie and his music,” says Bullard.
The QJO will perform at Flushing Town Hall on Friday, June 28 at 8 PM ET. The free, pre-concert reception will be open for concert ticket holders at 7 PM.
For more upcoming events at Flushing Town Hall, visit this website.
The post Queens Jazz Orchestra Honors Legend, Albert “Tootie” Heath appeared first on NYS Music.
