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Noah Howard: Quartet To At Judson Hall, Revisited

By Mark Corroto
June 5, 2023
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Noah Howard: Quartet To At Judson Hall, Revisited

Saxophonist

Noah Howard

saxophone, alto
1943 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Noah Howard is a musician deserving wider recognition. Born in New Orleans in 1943, like many black musicians he began playing music in the church. After a stint in the army, he settled on the West Coast where the avant-garde was progressing outside the purview of New York, which at the time was considered the center of all things jazz. The West Coast was also the origin of such as avant-gardists as

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman,

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry,

Charlie Haden

bass, acoustic
1937 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Haden, and the saxophonist

Sonny Simmons

saxophone, alto
1933 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Simmons, a musician Howard would associate with before moving to New York and eventually Europe.

Maybe there was not enough room in the '60s for critics to expand their attention beyond the New Thing sounds of

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane,

Albert Ayler

saxophone, tenor
1936 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler, and

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman. Lucky for adventurist listeners, the ezz-thetics Revisited Series is drawing greater to attention to deserving musicians such as Howard,

Marion Brown

saxophone, alto
1931 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Marion Brown, and

Joe Harriott

saxophone
1928 - 1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Harriott with these expertly remastered reissues.

Howard's two ESP Disk releases are presented here. Both were recorded in New York in 1966. The first Quartet finds the saxophonist with two musicians about whom very little is known, the expat-British trumpeter Ric Colbeck and drummer Dave Grant. The quartet's bassist Scotty Holt would later be heard in

Jackie McLean

saxophone, alto
1932 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Jackie McLean's ensembles. The piano-less ensemble is fashioned in the same manner as Ornette Coleman's quartet with

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry, yet it draws more from the styling of Sonny Simmons. Howard employs a bluesy Gospel-like sound here. Oxymoron aside, can we call this accessible free jazz? Certainly.

With At Judson Hall, Howard expands his quartet, adding pianist

Dave Burrell

piano
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Burrell, swapping Holt's bass for that of

Sirone

bass, acoustic
1940 - 2009

" data-original-title="" title="">Sirone, plus cellist Catherine Norris, and the evergreen drummer

Bobby Kapp

drums
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Kapp, who can be heard in

Matthew Shipp

piano
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Matthew Shipp's trio. The Judson Hall recording replaces the urgency of Quartet with a more equanimous sound. Credit the influence of this new line-up for expanding Howard's conception. "Homage to Coltrane" is the highlight here. The ensemble ramps up the intensity from its hypnotic rhythms and dreamlike beginning to a feverish and most satisfying conclusion.

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Track Listing

Henry's Street; Apotheosis; Apotheosis Extension I; And About Love; This Place Called Earth; Hommage To Coltrane.

Personnel

Noah Howard

saxophone, alto

Dave Burrell

piano

Sirone

bass, acoustic

Bobby Kapp

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Ric Colbeck: trumpet; Scotty Holt: bass; Dave Grant: drums; Catherine Norris; cello

Album information

Title: Quartet To At Judson Hall, Revisited | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Ezz-thetics

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