Eugene "Fats" Heard (October 10, 1923 – December 5, 1987)[1] was an American jazz drummer.
Fats Heard | |
---|---|
Birth name | Eugene Heard |
Born | October 10, 1923 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
Died | December 5, 1987 (aged 64) |
Genres | Jazz |
Instrument(s) | Drums |
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Heard graduated from Central High School and studied piano at the Cleveland Institute of Music before taking up the drums as his primary instrument.[2][3]
Heard played with Coleman Hawkins and Lionel Hampton and was part of Erroll Garner's band from 1952 to 1955. He played on Garner's original 1954 recording of "Misty".[3] In the late-1950s, Heard ran the Modern Jazz Room (formerly Cotton Club) in downtown Cleveland with his friend Jim Bard.[4]
With Erroll Garner