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Howard McGhee: Howard McGhee West Coast 1945-1947

Bebop trumpet pioneer Howard McGhee has undergone a lengthy process of rediscovery and reassessment since his death in 1987. A one-time Downbeat Poll Winner (1947), it's probably not much of an exaggeration to say he had been largely forgotten, even by trumpet players. Yet Gunther Schuller (1989) and Scott DeVeaux (1997) soon published searching and sophisticated analyses of his contribution and playing. More recently, trumpet player Brian Lynch offers a terrific appreciation of McGhee in his Unsung Heros of Jazz ...
read moreHoward McGhee, The Kenny Drew Trio, The Tal Farlow Quartet: Howard McGhee and Howard McGheeVolume 2

Who is Howard McGhee?. Howard McGhee (1918 - 1987) today might be considered a footnote (albeit a large one) in jazz. But, during the rise of Bebop in the mid '40s to '50s he was considered one of the most technically proficient and inventive trumpeters performing. Critic Scott Yanow defined McGhee as the missing [influential] link" between Roy Eldridge and Theodore Fats" Navarro, the latter going onto influence Clifford Brown, who in turn influenced many other trumpet players in the ...
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