George Howard (September 15, 1956 – March 20, 1998) was an American

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

saxophonist.

Music career

Howard was born on September 15, 1956, in Philadelphia. He was only six when he began taking music lessons at school on clarinet and bassoon. Influenced by

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

and

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

, he later on chose the soprano saxophone, because it resembled the bassoon. By the time he was 15, he began touring the country with notable rhythm-and-blues groups such as Blue Magic, First Choice and

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American soul and R&B vocal group. One of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s, the group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in ...

. In the late 1970s, he toured with saxophonist

Grover Washington, Jr. Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders of the smooth jazz genre. He wr ...

, who was one of his idols. In the early 1980s, Howard started his solo career, and released his first and second studio albums, ''Asphalt Gardens'' in 1982, and '' Steppin' Out'' in 1984. Both albums were well received and ranked high on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine jazz album charts at No. 25 and 9, respectively. The last track on 'Steppin' Out' is called 'Dream Ride', and features Howard playing soprano saxophone. The track was promoted in 1984 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

by DJ

Robbie Vincent Robbie Vincent (born 9 June 1947) is an English radio broadcaster and DJ. As a champion of jazz, funk and soul music in the UK during the late 1970s he made an important contribution both live in clubs and on radio. In 1995 he was voted Independ ...

, and is now a classic among soul and jazz enthusiasts. By 1985, his third album, ''Dancing in the Sun'', had scaled the ''Billboard'' Jazz Album chart to No. 1. Each of his next three albums, ''Love Will Follow'' (1986), ''A Nice Place to Be'' (1986), and ''Reflections'' (1988), would also reach this height in the Jazz Album chart. After the success of ''Dancing in the Sun'', Howard left

GRP Records GRP® Records (Grusin-Rosen Productions) is a jazz record label founded by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen (producer), Larry Rosen in 1978. Distributed by Verve Records, GRP® was originally known for its digital recordings that focuses on its jazz ...

to join

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

through the 1988 release of ''Reflections''. His next album ''Personal'' was released in 1990, which featured his biggest hit ''Shower You With Love''. However, he returned to GRP in 1990 and released ''Love and Understanding'' in 1991. It was followed by ''Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?'' (1992), ''When Summer Comes'' (1993), ''A Home Far Away'' (1994), which features the song "Grover's Groove", a tribute to Grover Washington Jr., and ''Attitude Adjustment'' (1996). His first five years with GRP, plus a selection of his MCA recordings, were summarized on 1997's ''The Very Best of George Howard and Then Some''. During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Howard performed at a hospitality house for the continent of Africa, which influenced his music after a visit there. Howard returned to recording with ''Midnight Mood'', which was released in January 1998, his final album before his death two months later. He stayed with GRP until his death from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

at the age of 41 on March 20, 1998, in Atlanta. His final album, ''There's a Riot Goin' On'' was released posthumously by

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...

two months after his death. Howard was survived by his daughter, Jade Howard, and two sisters, Mary Howard and Doris Beverly.

Discography

* 1982: ''Asphalt Gardens'' (

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

) * 1984: '' Steppin' Out'' (Palo Alto) * 1985: ''

Dancing in the Sun ''Dancing in the Sun'' (german: Tanz in der Sonne) is a 1954 West German musical film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Cécile Aubry, Franco Andrei and Ursula Justin.Koshofer p.110 It was shot on location in Hamburg and Andalucía. Th ...

'' (Palo Alto) * 1986: '' Love Will Follow'' (Palo Alto) * 1986: ''A Nice Place to Be'' ( MCA) * 1988: ''Reflections'' (MCA) * 1990: ''Personal'' (MCA) * 1991: ''Love and Understanding'' ( GRP) * 1992: ''Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?'' (GRP) * 1993: ''When Summer Comes'' (GRP) * 1994: ''A Home Far Away'' (GRP) * 1996: ''Attitude Adjustment'' (GRP) * 1997: ''The Very Best of George Howard and Then Some'' (GRP) * 1998: ''Midnight Mood'' (GRP) * 1998: ''There's a Riot Goin' On'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

)

References

External links

VH1 bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, George American jazz soprano saxophonists American male saxophonists 1956 births 1998 deaths Musicians from Philadelphia Smooth jazz saxophonists Palo Alto Records artists MCA Records artists GRP Records artists 20th-century American saxophonists Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Deaths from colorectal cancer Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state)