title: Fats Heard
text: # Fats Heard
  
  Eugene "Fats" Heard (October 10, 1923 – December 5, 1987) was an American jazz drummer.
  
  ## Early life and education
  
  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.
  
  ## Career
  
  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". In the late-1950s, Heard ran the Modern Jazz Room (formerly Cotton Club) in downtown Cleveland with his friend Jim Bard.
  
  ## Discography
  
  With Erroll Garner
  
  * Mambo Moves Garner (Mercury, 1954)
  