Noah Howard American jazz saxophonist. died he was , 67,

Noah Howard ^[1] was an American free jazz alto saxophonist died he was , 67,.^[2]


(April 6, 1943 – September 3, 2010)

Biography

An American born in New Orleans, Howard played music from childhood in his church. He first learned trumpet and later switching to alto, tenor and soprano saxophone. He was an innovator influenced by John Coltrane^[3] and Albert Ayler. He studied with Dewey Johnson first in Los Angeles and later on in San Francisco. When he moved to New York he started playing with Sun Ra.

He recorded his first LP “Noah Howard quartet” as a leader in 1965 and his second LP “Noah Howard at Judson Hall“ in 1966 both for ESP Records, but found little critical acclaim in the USA. In the Sixties and Seventies he performed regularly in the USA and Europe and moved to Paris in 1968.
In 1969 he appeared on Frank Wright's album One For John and on Black Gypsie with Archie Shepp. As leader he recorded The Black Ark ^[4] with Arthur Doyle among others. In 1971 he created his own record label AltSax ^[5] and published most of his music under that label .
In 1971 he recorded Patterns in the Netherlands with Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink. He moved to Paris in 1972, lived in Nairobi in 1982 and finally moved to Brussels late 1982, where he had a studio and ran a jazz club. He recorded steadily through the 1970s and 1980s, exploring funk and world music in the latter decade and recording for AltSax. In the 1990s he returned to his free jazz origins, releasing on Cadence Jazz among others, and experienced a resurgence in critical acclaim. His last two albums Desert Harmony (2008, with Omar al Faqir) and Voyage (2010) reflected his interest in World Music and were influenced by Indian, Latin American and Middle Eastern music.

Discography

• Noah Howard Quartet (1966) with Ric Colbeck, Scotty Holt, Dave Grant
• At Judson Hall (1966) with Dave Burrell, Norris Jones [aka Sirone], Rik Colbeck, Bobby Kapp
• The Black Ark (1969) with Arthur Doyle, Earl Cross, Muhammad Ali, Juma Sultan, Norris Jones [aka Sirone], Leslie Waldron, Earl Freeman (by Freedom)
• One for John (1969) with Frank Wright
• Black Gypsy (1969) with Archie Shep
• Space Dimension (1970) with Frank Wright, Bobby Few, Art Taylor
• Uhuru Na Umoja (1970) with Frank Wright, Bobby Few, Art Taylor
• Live at the Village Vanguard (1972) with Frank Lowe, Robert Bruno, Earl Freeman, Juma Sultan, Rashied Ali
• Church Number Nine (1973) with Frank Wright, Bobby Few, Mohamed Ali
• Patterns (1973) with Han Bennink, Steve Boston, Earl Freeman, Misha Mengelberg, Jaap Schoonhoven (by Altsax)
• Berlin Concert (1975) with Takashi Kako, Kent Carter, Oliver Johnson, Lamont Hampton
• Live in Europe, Volume 1 (1975) with Noah Howard, Takashi Kako, Kent Carter, Muhammad Ali, Oliver Johnson
• Patterns (re-release 1976) with Han Bennink, Steve Boston, Earl Freeman, Misha Mengelberg, Jaap Schoonhoven (by Sun Records)
• Red Star (1977) with Bobby Few, Guy Pederson, Richard Williams, Kenny Clarke
• Schizophrenic Blues (1978)
• Message to South Africa (1979) with Johnny Dyani, Kali Fasteau, Chris McGregor, Noel McGee
• Traffic (1983)
• At Documenta IX (1992)
• Live at the Unity Temple (1997) with Bobby Few, Wilbur Morris
• Expatriate Kin (1997)
• West frm 42nd (1997) with Eve Packer
• In Concert (1997)
• Between Two Eternities (1999)
• Live in Paris (2001)
• Middle Passage (2001)
• That Look (2001) with Eve Packer
• Window 9/11 (2002) with Eve Packer
• NY woman (2002) with Eve Packer
• Dreamtime (2002)
• The Eye of the Improviser (2003)
• Cruisin w/moxie (2003) with Eve Packer
• Migration (2007)
• The Black Ark (re-release 2007) with Arthur Doyle, Earl Cross, Muhammad Ali, Juma Sultan, Norris Jones [aka Sirone], Leslie Waldron, Earl Freeman (by Bo'Weavil Recordings)
• Desert Harmony with Omar al Faqir, Altsax Records (2008)
• Transit Mission (2009) with Bobby Kapp
• Voyage Altsax Records (2010)

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