Norman Howard
Born (1944-08-25) August 25, 1944
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
GenresFree jazz
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Trumpet

Norman Howard (born August 25, 1944) is a free jazz trumpeter best known for his association with saxophonist Albert Ayler.[1]

Career

Howard was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, in the same neighborhood as Ayler, and played with the saxophonist before he went into the army.[1][2] In 1962, Ayler moved to Europe, where he made his first recordings,[3] and when he returned, he reunited with Howard.[2] In 1963, Ayler moved to New York City,[4] and Howard followed in early 1964.[5] In February of that year, with Howard, bassists Henry Grimes and Earle Henderson (also from Cleveland), and drummer Sunny Murray, Ayler recorded the album Spirits.[6] Howard's dirge-like composition "Witches and Devils" appeared on the recording, although he was not given credit.[5][7][8]

Quartet

Shortly after the recording session, Howard returned to Cleveland, where he formed a quartet with saxophonist Joe Phillips (also known as Yusef Mumin), bassist Walter Cliff, and drummer Corney Millsap.[5] In November 1968, the group recorded material that was originally intended for release by ESP-Disk as catalogue number 1073.[5][9] However, the material was shelved until 1989, when some of the tracks were released by Homeboy Music, a label run by British musicologist Roy Morris, on a limited-edition cassette titled Signals.[5] In 1993, Homeboy reissued the contents of Signals, along with additional tracks from the session, on a second cassette called Burn, Baby, Burn.[5] In 2007, ESP-Disk issued eight of the tracks in remastered form on CD as Burn Baby Burn.[10][11][12]

Following the 1968 recording session, Howard converted to Islam and disappeared from the music scene.[5][10][8]

Tribute

In 2001, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, along with members of The Thing and School Days, recorded a tribute to the trumpeter in the form of an album titled The Music of Norman Howard, released the following year on Anagram Records.[13][14]

Discography

As leader

  • Signals (Homeboy Music, 1989) (cassette)
  • Burn, Baby, Burn (Homeboy Music, 1993) (cassette) reissued as Burn Baby Burn (ESP-Disk, 2007)

With Albert Ayler

  • Spirits (Debut, 1966) reissued as Witches & Devils
  • Spirits to Ghosts Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2022) (reissue / compilation)
  • Fire Music Vol. 1 (ESP-Disk, 2012) (sampler)

References

  1. 1 2 Campbell, Al. "Norman Howard: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Wilmer, Val (2018). As Serious As Your Life. Serpent's Tail. p. 134.
  3. ↑ Wilmer, Val (2018). As Serious As Your Life. Serpent's Tail. pp. 133–134.
  4. ↑ Wilmer, Val (2018). As Serious As Your Life. Serpent's Tail. p. 137.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Allen, Clifford (December 2005). "Reissue This! Norman Howard". Paris Transatlantic. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  6. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 53.
  7. ↑ Freeman, Phil (August 29, 2007). "Norman Howard & Joe Phillips: Burn Baby Burn". The Cleveland Scene. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Crépon, Pierre (March 2019). "Avant garde jazz and black rights activism in 1960s Cleveland, Ohio: an interview with Mutawaf A Shaheed". The Wire. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  9. ↑ "ESP-Disk' Catalog: 1000 series – album index". JazzDisco. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Yanow, Scott. "Norman Howard / Joe Phillips: Burn Baby Burn". AllMusic. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Norman Howard / Joe Phillips: Burn Baby Burn". ESP-Disk. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  12. ↑ "ESP-Disk' Catalog: 4000 series – album index". JazzDisco. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  13. ↑ "The Music of Norman Howard – Mats Gustafsson". Anagram Records. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Anagram Records ANA LP 001 The music of Norman Howard". EFI. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
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