Howard McGhee
During 1945-1949, Howard McGhee was one of the finest trumpeters in jazz, an exciting performer with a sound of his own, who among the young bop players, ranked at the top with Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro. The "missing link" between Roy Eldridge and Fats Navarro (Navarro influenced Clifford Brown who influenced most of the post-1955 trumpeters), McGhee originally played clarinet and tenor, not taking up trumpet until he was 17. He worked in territory bands, was with Lionel Hampton in 1941, and then joined Andy Kirk (1941-1942), being featured on "McGhee Special." McGhee participated in the fabled bop sessions at Minton's Playhouse and Monroe's Uptown House, modernizing his style away from Roy Eldridge and towards Dizzy Gillespie. He was with Charlie Barnet (1942-1943), returned to Kirk (where he sat next to Fats Navarro in the trumpet section), and had brief stints with Georgie Auld and Count Basie before traveling to California with Coleman Hawkins in 1945; their concise recordings of swing-to-bop transitional music (including "Stuffy," "Rifftide," and "Hollywood Stampede") are classic. McGhee stayed in California into 1947, playing with Jazz at the Philharmonic, recording and gigging with Charlie Parker (including the ill-fated "Lover Man" date) and having an influence on young players out on the Coast. His Dial sessions were among the most exciting recordings of his career, and back in New York he recorded for Savoy and had a historic meeting on record with Navarro in 1948 on Blue Note.
Eventually, drugs began to affect McGhee's career. He traveled on a USO tour during the Korean War, recording in Guam. McGhee also had sessions for Bethlehem (1955-1956) but was inactive during much of the '50s. He recorded some strong dates for Felsted, Bethlehem, Contemporary, and Black Lion during 1960-1961, and on a quartet outing for United Artists (1962), but (with the exception of a Hep big band date in 1966) was largely off records again until 1976. He had a final burst of activity during 1976-1979 for Sonet, SteepleChase, Jazzcraft, Zim, and Storyville, but by then, McGhee was largely forgotten and few knew about his link to Fats Navarro and Clifford Brown.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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Discography
21 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Jazzbrothers
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Storyville on Jan 20, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dusty Blue (Remastered 2013)
Jazz - Released by Bethlehem Records on Jan 1, 2000
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Maggie's Back In Town! (Reissue / Remastered 1991)
Jazz - Released by Contemporary Records on Jun 26, 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Jazz Masters
Bebop - Released by Vintage Masters Inc. on May 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Howard McGhee: Volume 2 / Tal Farlow Quartet
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on Jan 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Howard McGhee / Introducing The Kenny Drew Trio
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on Jan 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bebop
James Moody, Don Byas, Howard McGhee
Jazz - Released by Universal Music Division Decca Records France on Jan 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Savoy Sessions: Maggie
Jazz - Released by Savoy on Mar 5, 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Howard McGhee All Stars
Jazz - Released by CM BLUE NOTE (A92) on Jan 1, 1952
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Classics
Bebop - Released by Stardust Records on Sep 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Howard McGhee (Vol. 2)
Jazz - Released by Blue Note Records on Jan 1, 1953
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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(Music From) The Connection
Jazz - Released by Iris Music Group on Jan 1, 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wise In Time
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Storyville on Nov 20, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries (2014 Remastered Version)
Jazz - Released by Bethlehem Records on Aug 20, 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Home Run
Contemporary Jazz - Released by Storyville on Feb 20, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Heat's On
Roy Eldridge, Howard McGhee, Howard McGhee's Be-Boppers
Jazz - Released by Esquire Records on Dec 14, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazzcraft Studio Recordings 1978-79
Howard McGhee, Teddy Edwards, Benny Bailey
Free Jazz & Avant-Garde - Released by Storyville Records on May 30, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
From the Newport Jazz Festival Tribute to Charlie Parker
Newport Parker Tribute All Stars
Jazz - Released by RCA Victor - Legacy on Jun 19, 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sunset Swing
Buddy Childers, Howard McGhee, André Previn
Jazz - Released by 1201 MUSIC on Dec 31, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo