In the 1940s, Jimmy and Percy gigged in and around their Philadelphia home: Percy, who got his bass in 1946, was playing with a trio, and Jimmy had his Big Band with John Coltrane and Benny Golson as regulars and Charlie Parker and Max Roach sitting in. Although there have been several incarnations of the Heath Brothers as a group, it wasn't until Jimmy's Riverside recordings in the late 1950s and early 1960s that the three brothers had a chance to really play together. Or the six Riverside recordings, all three brothers played on "Really Big" (1960), "The Quota" (1961), and "Swamp Seed" (1963), along with featured musicians Clark Terry, Tommy Flanagan, Nat Adderley, Cannonball Adderley, Cedar Walton, Julius Watkins, and Freddie Hubbard, among others.
Jimmy, Percy, and Tootie Heath teamed up again as the Heath Brothers in 1975. Up until then Percy had been busy with the Modern Jazz Quartet, but with the MJQ in retirement-temporarily as it turned out - all three brothers were free to join forces. Originally a quartet with pianist Stanley Cowell but expanding after the addition of guitarist Tony Purrone and Jimmy's son Mtume on percussion, the band recorded one album for Strata East (1976), four fo Columbia (1978-80) and two for Island Antilles (1981, 1983). Tootie Heath left the group early on and was replaced by Akira Tana, although Tootie came back for the final 1983 Island Antilles record. During this time, the group performed at several prestigious festivals, including the Ojai and Montreux gatherings and a special concert for the athletes at the Olympic Village in Lake Placid, New York, in 1980.
During the 14-year layover from 1983 until the next Heath Brothers recording in 1997, Percy regrouped with the MJQ. Tootie and Jimmy continued to play together sporadically in the Jimmy Heath Quartet. Jimmy also continued composing, arranging, performing, and teaching master classes at Queens College. Tootie continued his abundant freelance activities and took Connie Kay's place in the MJQ when Kay passed in 1994.
By 1997, the MJQ had disbanded, and Percy and Tootie were free to join Jimmy once again for a new version of the Heath Brothers for the 1990s and two recordings for Concord Jazz. In the first recording, the years seem to have flown by in a heatbeat as the tongue-in-cheek title, "As We Were Saying..." (1997) indicates. The second CD, "Jazz Family" (1998), is a recording built around compositions by Jimmy and Percy. In the late 1990s to the present day. The Heath Brothers, including Jeb Patton as a permanent fourth member on the piano, perform regularly at major clubs, international jazz festivals, concert halls, and colleges.