Rick Howard Biography

"FORTY FIVE YEARS ON A PAGE"

Rick Howard's forty five years of guitar playing and vocalizing have put
him into every situation and every musical genre. At age fourteen Rick
was performing at local functions and by seventeen playing parties and
weddings. By nineteen he was getting his Jazz legs playing nightclubs
while teaching guitar in a Brooklyn music school.

Rick first attended college in his twenties. The local 802 program for
professional musicians at Kingsborough College gave him a chance
to hone his arranging, composing and orchestration skills. The late
seventies saw Rick form a group called "Whapp." This Zappa influenced
ensemble mixed intricate music with a humorous theatrical approach.
In the Eighties, Rick applied his talents to doing session work, playing
guitar on movie scores and jingles. He contributed to recordings by King
Sunny Ade, Betty Wright, Bob Marley, and Shania Twain to name a few.

Rick toured extensively with artists such as the Drifters and Chuck Berry,
and he has shared the stage with Keith Emerson, Birelli Legrene, Jeff
Baxter, John Entwhistle and others. Rick was heavily involved in the
jazz and blues scene, performing with his group "The Wolfpack." Rick
recorded two albums with his Latin Jazz group IGUAZU...the first self
titled "Iguazu" in 1998, and the second, "All You Need" in 2003. "All
You Need" featured guests Paquito D'Rivera, Slide Hampton and
Antonio Hart. Iguazu played at many Jazz festivals sharing the bill
with Acoustic Alchemy, Alex Bugnon and David Valentin, to name a few.

Rick Howard is known by his peers to be one of the most diversified
and eclectic guitarists on the scene. He plays every musical style
with authenticity and taste. Rick considers his style to be the
culmination of all his musical experience and influences. These
influences include Kenny Burrell, Larry Carlton, Carlos Santana,
Frank Zappa, Herb Ellis,Tal Farlow, David Gilmour, Alvin Lee,
Wes Montgomery, Jimi Hendrix and Joe Pass.

Rick now resides in Southwest Florida, enjoying the tropical
climate and playing and singing as much Jazz and Blues as humanly
possible! Rick's main guitars are his Gibson custom "Wes" L-5,
Gibson ES-336, two SG's,1974 Fender Stratocaster, Heritage custom
H-500, Gretsch 6120 Junior, and his Yamaha APX-6n. He uses
Evans amps, Boss effects, and D'addario strings.

DISCOGRAPHY: 

Beginnings:1989-1990(1999)-Shania Twain

Soul Almighty:The Formative Years,Vol.1 (enhanced)
2001-Bob Marley

Iguazu-1998

Conversion( 2000 )-Chris Simpson

Oracle ( 2000 )- Daezaster

All You Need ( 2001 )- Iguazu

Dust Bunnies ( 2006 )- Howard Kaylan