George Howard

By merging funk, jazz, and urban soul into a refined style, soprano saxophonist George Howard emerged as one of contemporary jazz’s leading figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Concentrating on groove and overall texture rather than improvisation, he drew scant notice from jazz critics yet sustained a broad listenership well into his second decade of activity.

Howard launched his professional path in the late 1970s. His initial opportunity arrived when Grover Washington, Jr., a key musical influence, brought him along on a 1979 tour that raised his profile. Capitalizing on that exposure, he issued his first album, Asphalt Garden, on Palo Alto in 1982; the record achieved moderate success, as did its 1984 successor, Steppin’ Out. Not until Dancing in the Sun appeared in 1985 did Howard reach a substantially wider audience, with the album topping the contemporary jazz charts. After that breakthrough he joined MCA and delivered A Nice Place to Be, Reflections, Personal, and Love Will Follow, each of which performed strongly on the charts.

In 1991 Howard moved to GRP and debuted on the label with Love and Understanding. Subsequent releases included Do I Ever Cross Your Mind in 1992, When Summer Comes in 1993, A Home Far Away in 1994, and Attitude Adjustment in 1996. These GRP titles all enjoyed solid chart results, reinforcing his standing among the decade’s foremost contemporary jazz artists. His initial five years at the label, together with selected MCA tracks, were compiled on the 1997 anthology The Very Best of George Howard.

Howard resumed recording with Midnight Mood, issued in January 1998; it proved to be the final album released during his lifetime. He died suddenly on March 29, 1998. Several months afterward, his last project—a reading of Sly Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On conceived for Blue Note’s cover series—came out.