James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader.

[3] The band included John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Specs Wright, Cal Massey, Johnny Coles, Ray Bryant, and Nelson Boyd.

[1] He was released early, on May 21, 1959, and remained clean for the rest of his life; conditions of probation made it difficult, but he managed to start rebuilding his career.

[8] In the 1980s, Heath joined the faculty of the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, City University of New York.

With the rank of Professor, he led the creation of the Jazz Program at Queens College and attracted prominent musicians such as Donald Byrd to the campus.

[7] At a coming-home party the night after his release from Lewisburg Penitentiary, he met his eventual wife, Mona Brown, whom he married in 1960; they had two children, Roslyn and Jeffrey.

Many have since become jazz standards, recorded by artists such as; Art Farmer, Cannonball Adderley, Clark Terry, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, James Moody, Milt Jackson, Ahmad Jamal, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, J. J. Johnson, and Dexter Gordon.

Heath also composed suites and string quartets, and a symphony, Three Ears, which premiered in 1988 at Queens College, with Maurice Peress conducting.

[17] Sources:[18][19] Compilation With the Heath Brothers With Kenny Dorham With Art Farmer With Curtis Fuller With Milt Jackson With Sam Jones With Herbie Mann With Blue Mitchell With others