Earle "Nappy" Howard (June 3, 1904December 31, 1978) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, bandleader, guitarist, and vocalist.

Career

Howard was raised in New York City and went to the same high school as

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

. He belonged to a youth band that included

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

, Charlie Irvis, and

Benny Morton Benny Morton (January 31, 1907 – December 28, 1985) was an American jazz trombonist, most associated with the swing genre. Career He was born in New York, United States. One of his first jobs was working with Clarence Holiday, and he appe ...

. He led bands in the 1920s, including one with Geechie Fields and Johnny Russell (),Kennedy, Gary W.; Howard Rye
"Howard, Earle “Nappy”."
''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 November 2022. and later performed at Strand Danceland, New York, with a band that included saxophonists

Fernando Arbello Fernando Arbello (May 30, 1906 – July 26, 1970) was a Puerto Rican jazz trombonist and composer who spent most of his career in America. Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Eladio Arbelo and Raimunda Cruz, he was the second of seven children and firs ...

and

Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (25 December 1940 – 19 May 2023) was an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) ...

(autumn 1928 – spring 1929), before accompanying Bill Benford (spring 1929 – spring 1930). In 1930, he led a big band in Boston, and spent the next decade as a musical director and performing in clubs in New York, with residencies at the Saratoga Club, the

Savoy Ballroom The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem ...

and in the Blackbirds revue, played with

Leon Abbey Leon Alexander Anthony Abbey (May 7, 1900 – September 1975) was an American jazz violinist and bandleader. Biography He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 7, 1900, to Luther James Robert Abbey and Eva Lee Alexander. He started his care ...

, and toured in South America. He moved to Europe in the 1950s.

Discography

*'' Americans in Europe Vol. 2'' (Impulse!, 1963)

References

1904 births 1978 deaths American jazz bandleaders American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists {{Jazz-stub