• Genre: Jazz
• Active: '80s, '90s, 2000s
• Instrument: Guitar

Biography

Howard Alden is to the guitar what Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Dan Barrett, and Ken Peplowski are to the tenor, trumpet, trombone, and clarinet. Part of a youthful swing movement that gained momentum in the 1980s, Alden plays the earlier pre-bop styles quite effectively but also has the ability to perform the music of Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans, and he is equally talented on electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and his rarely played banjo. Alden began playing guitar at age ten and he counts his early influences as guitarists Barney Kessel, Charlie Christian, and George Van Eps in addition to Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Count Basie. He began gigging professionally in Los Angeles as a teenager and became good friends with trombonist Dan Barrett. In 1979 Alden played with vibraphonist Red Norvo and, in 1982, followed Barrett to New York where he quickly became established as a major guitarist. He performed and recorded with the who's who of mainstream jazz (including Joe Bushkin, Ruby Braff, Joe Williams, Woody Herman, Benny Carter, Flip Phillips, Bud Freeman, Clark Terry, and Dizzy Gillespie) and by the mid-'80s was one of the most popular artists on the Concord label. A very consistent and inventive musician, Alden has since been in great demand for recording sessions, jazz parties, and festivals. His many recordings (which include a quintet co-led with Barrett, sessions on the seven-string guitar with his idol George Van Eps, and duets with Peplowski) are all enjoyable and perfect examples of modern swing. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Representative Albums:

Swing Street, Your Story: The Music of Bill Evans, Full Circle

Similar Artists:

Howard Roberts, Joe Pass, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis

A Member of the Group:

Ken Peplowski Quintet, New Jazz Wizards

Performed Songs By:

Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Lew Brown, Andy Razaf, Richard Rodgers, George Van Eps, Benny Goodman, Bill Evans, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin

Worked With:

Ed Trabanco, Frank Tate, Carl Jefferson, Warren Vaché, Ken Peplowski, Scott Hamilton, Allen Farnham, Ruby Braff, Dan Barrett

Live in '95 Buy this CD	In a Mellow Tone Buy this CD	My Shining Hour Buy this CD	Full Circle Buy this CD	Take Your Pick Buy this CD
Concord Jazz Guitar Collective Buy this CD	Encore! Live at Centre Concord Buy this CD	Your Story: The Music of Bill Evans Buy this CD	Good Likeness Buy this CD	Misterioso Buy this CD

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