Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, alongside Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger bebop trumpeters such as Navarro.
Howard McGhee was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, and raised in Detroit, Michigan.
During his career, he played in bands led by Lionel Hampton, Andy Kirk, Count Basie, and Charlie Barnet. He was in a club listening to the radio when he first heard Charlie Parker and was one of the earliest adopters of the new style.
In 1946–47, some record sessions for the new label Dial were organized in Hollywood, with Charlie Parker and McGhee. The first was held on July 29, 1946; the musicians were Charlie Parker, Howard McGhee, Jimmy Bunn, Bob Kesterson, and Roy Porter. With Parker's health near to collapse, he played "Max is Making Wax", "Lover Man", and "The Gypsy".
McGhee continued to work as a sideman with Parker. He played on titles such as "Relaxin' at Camarillo", "Cheers", "Carvin' the Bird" and "Stupendous". Around this time, McGhee was a leading musician in the Los Angeles bebop scene, participating in many concerts, recordings, and even managing a night club for a brief period. His stay in California ended because of racial prejudice, particularly vicious towards McGhee as half of a mixed-race couple.
Drug problems sidelined McGhee for much of the 1950s, but he resurfaced in the 1960s, appearing in many George Wein productions. His career sputtered again in the mid-1960s and he did not record again until 1976. He led one of three jazz big bands trying to succeed in New York in the late 1960s. While the band did not survive, a recording was released in the mid-1970s.
He taught music through the 1970s, both in classrooms and at his apartment in midtown Manhattan, and instructed musicians like Charlie Rouse in music theory. He was as much an accomplished composer-arranger as he was a performer.
McGhee died on July 17, 1987, at the age of 69; a memorial service was held for him on July 24, 1987.
1946–47: Night Music (Dial [10"], 1951) with Hank Jones, Milt Jackson, James Moody, Dodo Marmarosa
1946–47: Trumpet at Tempo (The Complete Dial Sessions) (Spotlite, 1976; CD reissue: Jazz Classics, 1996)
1948: Howard McGhee and Milt Jackson (Savoy, 1955)
1948: Be Bop (Atlantic [10"], 1952) with Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath
1950: Howard McGhee (Blue Note [10"], 1952) with Fats Navarro
1952: Jazz Goes to the Battle Front, Volume 1 (Hi-Lo [10"])
1952: Jazz Goes to the Battle Front, Volume 2 (Hi-Lo [10"])
1953: Howard McGhee, Vol. 2 (Blue Note [10"]) with Gigi Gryce
1955: The Return of Howard McGhee (Bethlehem) [a.k.a. That Bop Thing]
1956: Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries (Bethlehem)