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CNN Live Sunday

Interview With Tootie Heath, Percy Heath and Jimmy Heath

Aired September 22, 2002 - 18:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Between the three of you -- so many years of individual music careers and together as brothers -- a whole different dynamic. How is the act going?
TOOTIE HEATH, JAZZ MUSICIAN: My brother's qualified to answer that.

PERCY HEATH, JAZZ MUSICIAN: I think the people who hear us perform together and see us enjoy the camaraderie that we exchange between each other. We really love each other so -- and we love to play with each other because I feel my brothers are two of the most talented musicians in the world especially this dude over here. He's a bad drummer -- boy.

KAGAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

TOOTIE HEATH: Well, I've been called worse things than that but -- yeah -- my brother calls me baby. And as long as he's around I will be the baby.

KAGAN: Jimmy, I can tell there's a lot of love between the three brothers but you guys don't hesitate to give each other a hard time as well.

JIMMY HEATH, JAZZ MUSICIAN: Well, not much. We've learned over the years to be more tolerant of each other. We don't have far to go.

KAGAN: But we were talking sports before we even came on. You were giving Bertie a hard time about his team -- The Mets.

JIMMY HEATH: Well -- sorry.

PERCY HEATH: Well, you see -- you know what the problem is -- everybody like a winner. It takes a lot of nerve and tenacity to vote -- to root for a loser.

JIMMY HEATH: Then you should like The Cubs.

PERCY HEATH: I'm not a Chicago person. I've got my own problems.

KAGAN: Well, you might have some problems but you also have some great music. I know you've been a great entertainer for the fans here. Also working with the young people -- Jimmy -- you especially.

This festival is a great nurturer of young talent and its high school jazz bands. What's it like to work with kids in high school?

JIMMY HEATH: Well, it just lets me see how advanced the young kids are now as opposed to my generation. They're getting better at a younger age now and they are able to improvise, which we couldn't do at an early age.

A lot of people -- except for exceptions -- geniuses come along.

PERCY HEATH: But Jimmy is a professor. Anyhow, he's retired from teaching older children -- older kids -- on the college level. But he's been a professor all along when he had his own band in Philadelphia and Coal Train and Benny Golds (ph) and others -- people who went on to be stars were in Jimmy's band when I was learning to play the bass. So he's been a professor.

We've been calling him professor a long time.

JIMMY HEATH: Before . . .

KAGAN: Professor and baby.

JIMMY HEATH: Yeah.

PERCY HEATH: No -- I'm the baby.

KAGAN: You're the baby and professor.

PERCY HEATH: I called him Dr. Heath before they gave him a couple of doctorates -- he has a couple of them.

JIMMY HEATH: Yeah.

TOOTIE HEATH: So we call him Dr. J.E.H. -- that's James Edward Heath.

PERCY HEATH: That's who he is.

TOOTIE HEATH: In fact, I wrote a song called J.E.H.

PERCY HEATH: We're going to play it.

KAGAN: So the three of you have been here and you're going to travel on from here. As we go to break we're going to let the folks listen in.

Yesterday at this very stage at the same time we were able to visit with Nancy Wilson and Ramsey Lewis.

PERCY HEATH: Are you serious?

KAGAN: Yes. They were right here where you are sitting.

PERCY HEATH: No kidding?

KAGAN: And believe it or not -- 45 years of this jazz festival -- neither one has ever been to the Monterey Jazz Festival. This was their first showing.

PERCY HEATH: And I was on the first one and the first 12 or so before -- with the Modern Jazz Quartet. We started this thing in '58 with Jimmy Liondon (ph).

KAGAN: And we are so glad that you are still here with us and still performing so well.

PERCY HEATH: Yeah -- me, too.

KAGAN: The Heath Brothers -- thank you so much.

JIMMY HEATH: Thank you.

PERCY HEATH: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's listen in. I think Nancy Wilson is just taking the stage. We'll listen in.

(MUSIC)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 22, 2002 - 18:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Between the three of you -- so many years of individual music careers and together as brothers -- a whole different dynamic. How is the act going?
TOOTIE HEATH, JAZZ MUSICIAN: My brother's qualified to answer that.

PERCY HEATH, JAZZ MUSICIAN: I think the people who hear us perform together and see us enjoy the camaraderie that we exchange between each other. We really love each other so -- and we love to play with each other because I feel my brothers are two of the most talented musicians in the world especially this dude over here. He's a bad drummer -- boy.

KAGAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

TOOTIE HEATH: Well, I've been called worse things than that but -- yeah -- my brother calls me baby. And as long as he's around I will be the baby.

KAGAN: Jimmy, I can tell there's a lot of love between the three brothers but you guys don't hesitate to give each other a hard time as well.

JIMMY HEATH, JAZZ MUSICIAN: Well, not much. We've learned over the years to be more tolerant of each other. We don't have far to go.

KAGAN: But we were talking sports before we even came on. You were giving Bertie a hard time about his team -- The Mets.

JIMMY HEATH: Well -- sorry.

PERCY HEATH: Well, you see -- you know what the problem is -- everybody like a winner. It takes a lot of nerve and tenacity to vote -- to root for a loser.

JIMMY HEATH: Then you should like The Cubs.

PERCY HEATH: I'm not a Chicago person. I've got my own problems.

KAGAN: Well, you might have some problems but you also have some great music. I know you've been a great entertainer for the fans here. Also working with the young people -- Jimmy -- you especially.

This festival is a great nurturer of young talent and its high school jazz bands. What's it like to work with kids in high school?

JIMMY HEATH: Well, it just lets me see how advanced the young kids are now as opposed to my generation. They're getting better at a younger age now and they are able to improvise, which we couldn't do at an early age.

A lot of people -- except for exceptions -- geniuses come along.

PERCY HEATH: But Jimmy is a professor. Anyhow, he's retired from teaching older children -- older kids -- on the college level. But he's been a professor all along when he had his own band in Philadelphia and Coal Train and Benny Golds (ph) and others -- people who went on to be stars were in Jimmy's band when I was learning to play the bass. So he's been a professor.

We've been calling him professor a long time.

JIMMY HEATH: Before . . .

KAGAN: Professor and baby.

JIMMY HEATH: Yeah.

PERCY HEATH: No -- I'm the baby.

KAGAN: You're the baby and professor.

PERCY HEATH: I called him Dr. Heath before they gave him a couple of doctorates -- he has a couple of them.

JIMMY HEATH: Yeah.

TOOTIE HEATH: So we call him Dr. J.E.H. -- that's James Edward Heath.

PERCY HEATH: That's who he is.

TOOTIE HEATH: In fact, I wrote a song called J.E.H.

PERCY HEATH: We're going to play it.

KAGAN: So the three of you have been here and you're going to travel on from here. As we go to break we're going to let the folks listen in.

Yesterday at this very stage at the same time we were able to visit with Nancy Wilson and Ramsey Lewis.

PERCY HEATH: Are you serious?

KAGAN: Yes. They were right here where you are sitting.

PERCY HEATH: No kidding?

KAGAN: And believe it or not -- 45 years of this jazz festival -- neither one has ever been to the Monterey Jazz Festival. This was their first showing.

PERCY HEATH: And I was on the first one and the first 12 or so before -- with the Modern Jazz Quartet. We started this thing in '58 with Jimmy Liondon (ph).

KAGAN: And we are so glad that you are still here with us and still performing so well.

PERCY HEATH: Yeah -- me, too.

KAGAN: The Heath Brothers -- thank you so much.

JIMMY HEATH: Thank you.

PERCY HEATH: Thank you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's listen in. I think Nancy Wilson is just taking the stage. We'll listen in.

(MUSIC)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com