Noah Howard (April 6, 1943 – September 3, 2010) was an

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

alto saxophonist.

Biography

Born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Howard played music from childhood in his church. He first learned trumpet and later switched to alto, tenor and soprano saxophone. He was an innovator 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

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. After early experience playing R&B and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Howev ...

. He studied with Dewey Johnson, first in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and later on in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. When he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

he started playing with

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

. He recorded his first LP as a leader, ''

Noah Howard Quartet ''Noah Howard Quartet'' is the debut album by alto saxophonist Noah Howard. It was recorded in New York City during January 1966, and was released later that year by ESP-Disk. On the album, Howard is joined by trumpeter Ric Colbeck, bassist Scotty ...

'', in 1966, and his second LP ''

At Judson Hall ''At Judson Hall'' is a live album by alto saxophonist Noah Howard. It was recorded at Judson Hall in New York City on October 19, 1966, and was released in 1968 by ESP-Disk. On the album, Howard is joined by trumpeter Ric Colbeck, cellist Catheri ...

'' later that year, both for ESP Records, but found little critical acclaim in the US. In the 1960s and 1970s he performed regularly in the US and Europe, moving to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1968. In 1969, he appeared on Frank Wright's album ''

One for John ''One for John'' is an album by saxophonist Frank Wright (jazz musician), Frank Wright. Dedicated to Wright's mentor, John Coltrane, it was recorded at Studio Saravah in Paris on December 5, 1969, and was released in 1970 by BYG Records as part of ...

'' and on ''

Black Gipsy ''Black Gipsy'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded in Europe in 1969 for the America label. The album was also issued by the Prestige label under the title ''Black Gypsy''. Reception The Allmusic review by Sean Westergaard s ...

'' with

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

. As leader he recorded ''

The Black Ark The Black Ark was the recording studio of reggae and dub producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, built in 1973 and located behind his family's home in the Washington Gardens neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica. Despite the rudimentary set-up and dated e ...

'' with

Arthur Doyle Arthur Doyle (June 26, 1944 – January 25, 2014) was an American jazz saxophonist, bass clarinettist, flutist, and vocalist who was best known for playing what he called "free jazz soul music". Writer Phil Freeman described him as having "one o ...

among others. In 1971 he created his own record label, AltSax, and published most of his music under that label. In 1971, he recorded ''Patterns'' in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

with

Misha Mengelberg Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...

and

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...

. He moved to Paris in 1972, lived in Nairobi in 1982 and finally moved to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in late 1982, where he had a studio and ran a jazz club. He recorded steadily through the 1970s and 1980s, exploring

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

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 Cadence Jazz is an American record company and label specializing in noncommercial modern jazz. It is associated with ''Cadence Magazine''. Cadence Jazz was founded by Bob Rusch in Redwood, New York in 1980. By 2000 the label had issued more t ...

among other labels, 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. Noah Howard died on 3 September 2010 of a

cerebral haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

at the age of 67. He is survived by his wife, Lieve Fransen.

Discography

As leader or co-leader

*''

'' (ESP-Disk, 1966) *''

'' (ESP-Disk, 1968) *''Space Dimension'' (America, 1970) *''

'' (Freedom, 1972) *''Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Freedom / Intercord, 1972) *''Patterns'' (Altsax, 1973) (reissued as part of ''Patterns/Message to South Africa'') *''Live at the Swing Club'' (Ricordi, 1974) *''Live in Europe, Volume 1'' (Sun Records, 1975) (reissued as ''Ole'') *''

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

'' (Mercury, 1977) featuring

Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...

*''Berlin Concert'' (FMP, 1977) *''Schizophrenic Blues'' (FMP, 1978) *''Traffic'' (Frame, 1983) *''Migration'' (Altsax, 1990) *''Live at Documenta IX'' (Megadisc, 1992) *''In Concert'' (Cadence, 1998) *''Patterns/Message to South Africa'' (Eremite, 1999) *''Between Two Eternities'' (Cadence, 2000) with

Bobby Kapp Bobby Kapp (born Robert Kaplan on April 11, 1942) is an American jazz drummer.''Cactus''
at Bandcamp

*''Live at the Unity Temple'' (Ayler, 2000) *''Live in Paris'' (Altsax, 2001) *''Dreamtime...'' (Altsax, 2003) *''The Eye of the Improviser'' (Altsax, 2003) (compilation) *''Desert Harmony'' (Altsax, 2007) with Omar Faqir *''Transit Mission'' (Altsax, 2009) with Bobby Kapp *''Voyage'' (Altsax, 2010) *''Live at Glenn Miller Café'' (JaZt Tapes, 2012) *''From Dust We Came... To Dust We Return'' (Dirter/Static Caravan, 2016) with Justin Wiggan and Chris Mapp

As sideman

With Chris Chalfant *''Convergence'' (Chris Chalfant Music, 2007) With

Ted Daniel Ted Daniel (born June 4, 1943) is an American jazz trumpeter and composer. Biography He studied trumpet in elementary school, and began his professional career playing local gigs with his childhood friend, the legendary guitarist Sonny Sharrock. ...

*''Tapestry'' (Sun, 1977) With

James Emanuel James Emanuel (born June 15, 1921 – September 28, 2013) was a poet and scholar from Alliance, Nebraska. Emanuel, who is ranked by some critics as one of the best

*''Middle Passage'' (Altsax, 2001) With Zusaan Kali Fasteau *''Expatriate Kin'' (CIMP, 1997) *''Camaraderie'' (Flying Note, 1998) With Eve Packer *''West Frm 42nd'' (Altsax, 1998) *''That Look'' (Boxholder, 2000) *''NY Woman'' (Altsax, 2001) (single) *''Window 9/11'' (Altsax, 2002) *''Cruisin w/Moxie'' (Altsax, 2003) *''Now Playing'' (Altsax, 2009) *''First and Last'' (EPHereNowMusic, 2010) (single) With

*''

'' (America, 1970) *'' Pitchin Can'' (America, 1970) With Frank Wright *'' Uhuru na Umoja'' (America, 1970) *''

'' (BYG, 1970) *'' Church Number Nine'' (Odeon, 1971)

Books

*music in my soul ( buddy's knife jazzedition, 2011)

References

External links

Noah Howard's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Noah 1943 births 2010 deaths American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Free jazz saxophonists Jazz musicians from New Orleans Freedom Records artists ESP-Disk artists American male jazz musicians FMP/Free Music Production artists 20th-century American saxophonists