Background
Howard Alden was born in Newport Beach, California in 1958.
Howard Alden was born in Newport Beach, California in 1958.
He studied guitar with Jimmy Wyble when he was 16. In 1977-1978 he studied jazz guitar at the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood with Howard Roberts, where he eventually assisted Roberts in organizing and preparing his curriculum materials.
Alden has recorded many albums for Concord Records, including four with seven-string guitar innovator George Van Eps. He began playing the 4-string tenor guitar and banjo at age ten. After hearing recordings of Barney Kessel, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and other jazz guitar greats, he got a six-string guitar and started teaching himself to play that as well.
As a teenager he played both instruments at various venues in the Los Angeles area.
Alden then conducted some of his own classes at GIT. Alden made his first trip to the east coast in the summer of 1979, playing in a trio led by the legendary vibraphonist Red Norvo for three months at Resorts International in Atlantic City. Alden moved to New York City in 1982 to play an extended engagement at the Café Carlyle with jazz pianist/songwriter Joe Bushkin.
Soon afterward, he was discovered by Joe Williams and Woody Herman. In 1983 he was already collaborating with Dick Hyman, when he appeared with him and a host of other musicians at Eubie Blake"s one-hundredth birthday concert.
In 1988, Alden signed with the Concord Jazz record label and recorded many albums with them over the following fifteen years as a leader and sideman.
Alden recorded the guitar performances for Sean Penn"s character Emmet Ray in Woody Allen"s 1999 film, and taught Penn how to mime the performances for the film. The score also featured Bucky Pizzarelli on rhythm guitar and arrangements by pianist Dick Hyman.