Howard Roberts

gravitas · #1 01-29-2009, 07:41 AM

Heard about this guy just the other day... He was a guitarist most prominent in the 60s, but had had a long career before them. He's one of the founders of GIT. What an animal! Great sense of tension and release, great melodic intent, and peels off those big crunchy voicings like it's noting. Recordings are scarce though. There's some 2 minute clips from one of his albums and this guy up on youtube, but I'd like to hear more. Anybody know where I could?

Banksia · #2 01-29-2009, 07:48 AM

Try here:

Amazon.com: howard roberts: Music

pierre richard · #3 01-29-2009, 07:49 AM

how bout it gravitas...monster player...have a few of his records (yea LPS)..three of his method books..awesome...

He came to Allentown,Pa..I live 30 miles from there..in the 70's

A local music store and the local jazz club sponsered him..

mostly rockers in the audience who said who is THIS guy..

after the first tune they all new who this monster was..

top player...

time on the instrument..pierre...

Banksia · #4 01-29-2009, 07:53 AM

I actually bought Antelope Freeway LP in about 72. That was his jazz/rock period. God only knows how that turned up in record shop in rural Australia.

m78w · #5 01-29-2009, 08:39 AM

Check out his instructional books, they're some of the best ever written.

MW

pierre richard · #6 01-29-2009, 08:48 AM

yea m78w..

i have the howard roberts guitar method...the howard roberts chord melody manual...monster chops in 20 weeks...all great....

time on the instrument......pierre......

wizard3739 · #7 01-29-2009, 10:48 AM

Howard Roberts was a monster player with flawless technique and a unique approach to improvising. He was the backbone of G.I.T. and almost all of the original materials taught at G.I.T. came from Howard.

wiz

Bertrand tB · #8 01-30-2009, 12:34 PM

I have the Guitar Compendium 1 and 2 from Howard. Think they are really tough books though.

gravitas · #9 01-30-2009, 12:36 PM

AHHH! Look what I just found!

search the web for any song in the world

You can't rip the music, but you get access to all of iTunes' musical catalogue to hear. They have pages and pages of Howard Roberts tunes!

Also the books seem intriguing. I'm buried in books right now, but you can be sure those are next on my list

pierre richard · #10 01-30-2009, 12:43 PM

so many books - - so little time...

get on with it gravitas...

time on the instrument with the music in front of you..what could be better...pierre

wordsmith · #11 01-30-2009, 01:14 PM

.....yep, it works! It's in beta, so worth keeping an eye on it. Didn't go in too deeply as I'm on a modem at home ,with a Mb limit. Took me a few minutes to figure out where to type my address in.....
Maybe someone has a fast connection and time to investigate.....could be a great resource. Says it's free and legal...hope so.

wordsmith · #12 01-31-2009, 10:39 AM

......as m78w (Matt as we all know) says, this man's instructional books are exceptionally good.........Play Jazz Guitar in 20 weeks is worth a look. Has notation with chords and practice melody, fingerings and which string the bass note is on. Some theory pointers and loads of tips. No tabs, so you have to work if your a novice!
What impressed me was this, paraphrased: You may think your music sounds bad on a given day...check to see if there is not some kind of 'subliminal orchestration' around, making the guitar sound out of tune......eg air-conditioner noise, refrigerator motor or even outside traffic.

That's what I call deep!

I'm not sure of the copyright situation, so if you want to have a look you'll have to find it yourself.

Not too hard!

Flat · #13 02-14-2009, 05:15 AM

I just found this forum. Glad I did! This is my first post...

I had the great fortune to study with Howard at GIT also (back in 1983/84) and it was one of the best things I ever did in my life.

I attended one of HR's traveling seminars with Don Mock in San Francisco, and it convinced me that I had to make my way down to Hollywood to study with Howard (and Joe Diorio, Ron Eschete, and occasionally Joe Pass. Jimmy Herring was in my class. Frank Gambale and Scott Henderson had been there a year or two earlier and were teaching. Man, there were some great players roaming the halls in those days, all living "a hundred floors above me in the Tower of Song."

)

Howard was a truly brilliant man, in my opinion. Absolutely fantastic player, of course, and perhaps an even greater teacher.

I've got a couple of Howard's own guitar picks in a picture frame along with the jacket for the LP "The Real Howard Roberts" on the wall of my little practice room/studio. Howard's wife Patty sent them to me after Howard passed away, and they are a treasured memento. Patty said in her note to keep them away from open flame, since she thought they were made of acetate and might burst into flames!

Mike Evans at the University of Toronto has for years hosted a really great tribute website for Howard. If you ever want to find out more about one of the greatest guitarists of the 20th century (imho, at least), you might enjoy checking it out.

Howard Roberts - Jazz Guitarist

I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of this site, learning from some of you guys, and hopefully contributing a little whenever I can.

Cheers,

Flat

derek · #14 02-14-2009, 08:28 PM

Welcome to the group flat. I always heard Howard Roberts was a Dirty Guitar Player.

markf · #15 02-15-2009, 04:29 PM

I think the record label "guitarchives" run by Randy Bachman, might have some Howard Roberts albums.

Randy played a Howard Roberts tune on his cbc radio program, very nice;

I too used to have "antelope freeway" what a great album. anyone know who I loaned it to? I want it back.

markf · #16 02-15-2009, 04:39 PM

"Guitarchives" record label run by Randy Bachman has a Howard Roberts album for sale and two new Lenny Breau Albums.

Guitarchives Music Inc.

wizard3739 · #17 02-15-2009, 05:13 PM

Welcome aboard flat! It is great to find other GIT alumni on this forum. I was a graduate of the first class (1977-1978) and also studied with Howard Roberts privately prior to GIT. He was my friend and mentor and I miss him very much. I met him when I attended one of his seminars in 1975 (a real eye opener for me). I learned more about music in that seminar than all of my other years of lessons added together. He set me free when he taught me the rudiments of his chord melody approach. IE, anything goes if your ear likes it! With good voice leading, any chord can follow any other chord! I still have all of the seminar and GIT written material and my notes which I refer to quite often. IMHO, Howard was a very special musician with very special talents.

best wishes,
wiz

gawfshot · #18 07-26-2009, 12:46 AM

I'm working through the Berklee Modern Method books (with a very qualified teacher)- and reading a harmonic minor exercise from Volume 3. First nine positions ala Leavitt, then 5 positions ala Roberts. I compared the Praxis fingerings (vol 2) to Howards GIT Single String Technique fingerings (unit 7) and three out of five patterns have been altered. The patterns aren't even numbered correctly...

Jazzbo82 · #19 08-01-2009, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pierre richard

yea m78w..

i have the howard roberts guitar method...the howard roberts chord melody manual...monster chops in 20 weeks...all great....

time on the instrument......pierre......

You wouldn't happen to have any of these books do you in PDF, would you?

gawfshot · #20 08-01-2009, 03:19 PM

the monster chops is floating around the net .. you only need to search for it.
the praxis books are still available from jamey aebersold, but buyer be aware- the mistakes haven't been fixed...

Jazzbo82 · #21 08-01-2009, 03:44 PM

Is it in PDF? 'Cuz I don't know how to use torrents and the such.

gawfshot · #22 08-01-2009, 04:05 PM

at least SOME of it is in pdf... and some of it is surely virus infected, so download at your own risk...

lkmuller · #23 08-01-2009, 08:37 PM

Flat, thanks so much for posting that link. I've been a fan of Howard's since I was a teenager in the 60's. I LOVE his tone, just incredible. There's nobody like him and will never be. By the way, you can find a couple videos of his son on Youtube.

Doctor_Electron · #24 08-30-2009, 08:11 AM

Wiz, did you know Jerry Coehello from GIT? I had lessons with him in Santa Maria, Ca. on weekends while he was at GIT, and he arrainged for two HR seminars there, Aug. 1977 and Aug. 1978. I would have to say that if I had not attended those seminars, I would have always really sucked as a guitarist, musician, and teacher.

About five years ago, a beginner I had met asked me to give him some lessons. By applying the focused learning techniques and basic theory that I had learned from H.R., in about five months I had him up on stage playing a few standards at a benefit gig for a prestigious college (Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara), with an impressive degree of confidence. So, overall I think I actually learned more about proper learning than anything else.

To this day I am very inspired by having that exposure. Thank you, Howard!

Roberts Music Institute (His son Jay): www.robertsmusicinstitute.com (awesome!)

Doctor_Electron · #25 08-30-2009, 08:30 AM

The internet music service Rhapsody has a good amount of H.R. tunes, and the Euphoria Jazz label reissued six HR albums on 3 CD's, and also has the "Color Him Funky" + "H.R. is a Dirty Guitar Player" on one CD. You can also get them from Amazon.

BTW, I was the perpetrator in getting the "Color Him Funky" + "H.R. is a Dirty Guitar Player" CD ("Howard Roberts, Dirty & Funky") issued on Randy Bachmann's label, with the huge help (Thanks guys!) of Randy and Jim Hilmar, a staff writer for Vintage Guitar Magazine.

Hopefully more material will surface in the future.

There are some H.R. Tunes on YouTube including a live video done at GIT.
Also, some lessons from his monthly columb at Guitar Player Magazine dot com.

wizard3739 · #26 08-30-2009, 01:02 PM

Doctor_Electron:

Yes, I knew Jerry Coelho very well, he was my roommate when we attended G.I.T. After graduation, I think he went back to teaching in Santa Maria and I lost track of him then. He was a good friend and a good guitarist. I hope he is still playing and doing well.
BTW, Howard brought his son Jay to a G.I.T. classrooom and he played for us. (he was about 10-12 years old then). He was already a monster player and totally blew us away with some great bebop chops. At that time he sounded a lot like his father.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Howard Roberts changed my musical life forever when I attended his seminar in North Hollywood in 1976. IMHO, he was a very special MASTER guitarist, musician and teacher. I have many of his records, tapes and cd's and often play them.

wiz