Howard Vincent Alden (born October 17, 1958) is an American
jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. Alden has recorded many albums for
Concord Records, including four with seven-string guitar innovator
George Van Eps.
Early life
Howard Vincent Alden was born in
Newport Beach, California, on October 17, 1958.[1][2] He grew up in
Huntington Beach, playing piano, harmonica, the four-string
tenor guitar, and then four-string
banjo at age ten.[1] After hearing recordings of
Barney Kessel,
Charlie Christian,
Django Reinhardt, and other jazz guitar greats, he got a six-string guitar and started teaching himself to play. As a teenager he played both instruments at venues in the Los Angeles area.[3] He studied guitar with
Jimmy Wyble when he was 16. In 1977–78 he studied jazz guitar at the Guitar Institute of Technology (
GIT) in Hollywood with
Herb Ellis,
Joe Pass, and
Howard Roberts.[1] At GIT he assisted Roberts in organizing and preparing curriculum materials. Alden then conducted some of his own classes at GIT.[4]
Musical career
Alden made his first trip to the east coast in the summer of 1979, playing in a trio led by
vibraphonistRed Norvo for three months at Resorts International in
Atlantic City.
He moved to New York City in 1982 to play an extended engagement at the
Café Carlyle with jazz pianist/songwriter
Joe Bushkin. Soon afterwards, he was discovered by
Joe Williams and
Woody Herman. In 1983 he was already collaborating with
Dick Hyman, when he appeared with him and a host of other musicians at
Eubie Blake's one-hundredth birthday concert.[5]
Alden formed the Alden-Barrett Quintet in 1985 with
Dan Barrett, which played in the swing idiom, as he has done for most of his career. He also began partnerships with
Ruby Braff,
Kenny Davern and
Jack Lesberg. He joined
George Van Eps, innovator of the seven-string guitar, on tour and recorded albums with him, switching to the seven-string himself in 1992.[1]
Sweet and Lowdown
Alden recorded the guitar performances for
Sean Penn's character Emmet Ray in
Woody Allen's 1999 film Sweet and Lowdown, and taught Penn how to mime the performances for the film. The score also featured
Bucky Pizzarelli on rhythm guitar and arrangements by pianist
Dick Hyman.[6]
Lillette Jenkins &
Doc Cheatham, The Music of Lil Hardin Armstrong (Chiaroscuro, 1988)
References
^
abcdKennedy, Gary (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 26.
ISBN1-56159-284-6.
^Cook, Richard (2005). Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia. London: Penguin Books. pp. 6–7.
ISBN0-141-00646-3.