John Heard is a bass player and artist. He has worked with Pharoah Sanders, playing on his Heart is a Melody album, George Duke playing on the Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio album and Oscar Petersons The London Concert album. he also played on the Night Rider by Oscar Peterson and Count Basie.

He was born John William Heard in July 1938. He also played saxophone in his early years. He began playing bass at the age of 14. His professional career began in a band that included sax player Booker Ervin, drummer J.C. Moses, pianist Horace Parlan and trumpet player Tommy Turrentine. Whilst still at high school, he attended special classes at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

In the 1980s he had converted a North Hollywood garage into a studio and was spending much time there painting. He said that he was hanging out with Santa Monica-based sculptor, Jim Casey who was teaching him the way he wanted to learn. 18 months prior to his being interviewed for the article he had taken up sculpturing. His first one was a bust of Duke Ellington then one of Billy Eckstine. At the time he was working on one of Louis Armstrong. Examples of his work are held in the Oakland Museum of California. They include drawings of Bud Powell and Milt Jackson.