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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMcGHEE, Howard(b 6 March 1918, Tulsa OK; d 17 July 1987, NYC) Trumpet; also piano, reeds. Aka 'Maggie'. One of the great trumpeters of the bop era, he recorded prolifically as a sideman, yet subsequently passed through periods of obscurity; but then jazz has often not been the best way to make a living: his personal musical integrity always transcended eras. He played clarinet as a child, switching to trumpet influenced by Louis Armstrong; played with Lionel Hampton '41, Andy Kirk '41-2 (Kirk recorded 'McGhee Special' '42), with Charlie Barnet, Georgie Auld etc, then mostly small groups. His own first record for Modern in Los Angeles in '45 was a sextet including Charles Mingus; a Dial date in '46 became a McGhee session when Charlie Parker was too messed up to play. Some '46-7 Dial sides were reissued on Spotlite; some '48-52 sides on Savoy included Milt Jackson and the Heath Brothers; on Blue Note '49-53 with small groups including '48 dates with Fats Navarro. Albums on Bethlehem included a quintet '55, a ten-piece group '56 with arrangements by Frank Hunter, and a septet '60 with Pepper Adams, Benny Green, Ron Carter, Tommy Flanagan, again arranged by Hunter. There was a quintet set on Felsted '60 with Tina Brooks, Milt Hinton, drummer Osie Johnson, Freddie Redd on piano; a quartet Maggie's Back In Town '61 on Contemporary; tracks '61-2 on Fontana, Argo, UA; Cookin' Time '66 on Hep/Zim featured a big band he was leading then. He came back with sextet sets Here Comes Freddy '76 on Sonet with Illinois Jacquet, Jazzbrothers '77 on Jazzcraft/Storyville with Charlie Rouse, Live At Emerson's '78 on Zim with Rouse and Frank Wess, Home Run '78 on Jazzcraft with Benny Bailey, Young At Heart '79 on Storyville with Teddy Edwards: also Together Again on Contemporary with Edwards, more albums on Contemporary, Prestige, Muse, Fantasy, Steeplechase, Xanadu. |