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Rick Howard

Guitar and Vocals

Rick Howard's fifty plus years of guitar playing and vocalizing have put him into every situation and every musical genre. By nineteen he was getting his Jazz legs playing nightclubs while teaching guitar in a Brooklyn music school.

Rick 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 many artists and he has shared the stage with Keith Emerson, Birelli Legrene, Chico Hamilton, John Entwhistle and others. Rick was heavily involved in the jazz and blues scene in New York City.

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 now resides in Southwest Florida. He considers his new album "Lil' Noir" to be the culmination of his long musical career and looks forward to many years of creating great music.