Norman Howard

[ep1str0phy]

Music is music is music. Packaging of some sort is preferable to a white Staples CD sleeve and black sharpie inscriptions, anyhow.

Thanks, Clifford. I think the one non-Phillips tune is "Burn Baby Burn", if I indeed read the liner notes correctly.

[clifford_thornton]

Right.

There's more material than was issued on this disc, actually. Quite a bit more.

[AndrewHill]

Finally got this today. And what an album. Not the greatest, but because I'm a fan of Ayler's Spirits, I'm really enjoying the moment of the disk. Howard's solo's reminds of the same construction of Donald's; stabs but not a continous flow. Regardless, I like Joe Phillips a lot and the band is on the case.

And nice notes Clifford, I really enojoyed them!

[clifford_thornton]

Glad you dig the whole package!

Sure, it's a "period" piece, but very strong at that.

There's a bitch of an LP that Phillips cut with Abdul Wadud and drummer Hasaan Al-Hut (as the Black Unity Trio), that really needs a proper reissue.

[AndrewHill]

Glad you dig the whole package!

Sure, it's a "period" piece, but very strong at that.

There's a bitch of an LP that Phillips cut with Abdul Wadud and drummer Hasaan Al-Hut (as the Black Unity Trio), that really needs a proper reissue.

I do, thank you. Yes, its very much of its time, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it. Funny, the first thing that came to mind was not Spirits but Paul Bley's Barrage, which is another intense album. The more I listen to Burn Baby Burn, the more I dig it!

[clifford_thornton]

Funny, the first thing that came to mind was not Spirits but Paul Bley's Barrage, which is another intense album. The more I listen to Burn Baby Burn, the more I dig it!

Similarly "brittle" sound of the front line, maybe, and thin, top-heavy recording quality. I don't have it accessible right now, but I assume Alderson engineered the Bley.

Barrage is a motherfucker - dig how Bley, Gomez and Graves just turn the rhythm around!

[AndrewHill]

Funny, the first thing that came to mind was not Spirits but Paul Bley's Barrage, which is another intense album. The more I listen to Burn Baby Burn, the more I dig it!

Similarly "brittle" sound of the front line, maybe, and thin, top-heavy recording quality. I don't have it accessible right now, but I assume Alderson engineered the Bley.

Barrage is a motherfucker - dig how Bley, Gomez and Graves just turn the rhythm around!

Oh yeah! I love Barrage, probably my favorite Bley record, with Closer and Rambling a close second.

[romualdo]

Thanks Trumpet Guy for the Chuck Nessa connection tip re Norman Howard Signals.

Wonder if this is still available from the Nessa camp?

Chuck? Chuck??

←

some words on NORMAN HOWARD by roy morris

i first heard about Albert Ayler in 1964 and bought Spirits on Debut 146

later that year. this danish lp was sold by Collet's, the communist book-

store in London.

i loveed the music and was thrilled by Albert's highly original trumpeter,

Norman Howard.

around 1980, i read that George Coppens of Osmosis Records had been

in New York and discovered an unreleased session by Norman. but when

i contacted him, George had shelved his idea of releasing the music,

believing Norman's playing to be inept.

i had a cassette copy which i listened to frequently. in 1968 i was in a

position to buy the master tape. i produced 100 cassette copies and sold

it as SIGNALS on Homeboy music 1. the music was greated with ecstatic

reviews and great enthusiasm from those who bought it. With the proceeds

i purchased 2 more unmastered tapes i discovered Mr. Coppens owned.

these were massive 1/2" reels whose boxes bore Bernard Stollman's

writing and had clearly once "belonged" to ESP-DISK. i added this music

to Signals and put it out as side b of Homeboy music 2 cassette entitled

BURN, BABY, BURN in 1993. this time the plan was to distribute it via

William Parker's Stork Music set-up. Unfortunately this went out of

business, so i ended up giving the remaining copies to musicians i thought

might be interested.

this was hardly a commercial enterprise, but i was contacted by Henry

Rollins (ex. Black Flag) who thought the music was great, and wanted to

release it with "significant publicity" on his own 2.13.61 label. i happily

sold him the masters in 1997. since then, there has been only resounding

silence.

i was never able to contact Mr. Howard or find out what became of him.

no-one in Cleveland seemed to know. Joe Phillips converted to Islam,

becoming Yusef Mumin, and moved to Milwaukee. Norman also became a

Muslim in the early 80's, and may have followed Yusef there.

incidentally, Sunny Murray, recalling the Spirits session, remembered

Norman playing his own compositions, including Witches And Devils, for

two hours before demonstrating the music on Sunny's drums and then

switching to alto saxophone!

if any-one would like to hear Norman's music, send whatever you like to

me at 5 hill road, arbroath, angus dd11 1bx, scotland, uk

and i will be happy to make you a cassette copy of Burn, Baby, Burn.

maybe we can make something happen.

this music deserves to be heard.

I have a "cassette only" release on Homeboy Music, Fife, Scotland. The cassette was issued in 1989. The title is "Signals".

Norman Howard - trumpet

Joe Phillips - alto

Walter Cliff - bass

Corney Millsap - drums

"All songs composed by Norman Howard and recorded November 1968 in Cleveland Ohio."

Side 1

Soul Brother Genius

Burn, Baby, Burn

Haunted

Side 2

Bug Out

Deep Black Mystery

Soul Resurrection

Revisiting this thread as I've just obtained MP3's of the Homeboy releases (cassette 01 & 02) - 12 titles in all

The above cassette (01 - Signals) is a copy of the first "mastered" tape obtained by Roy Morris -> was this the proposed "unreleased" ESP 1073 (or was it going to be a mixture from both sessions as the 2007 CD)

It appears that the 2007 ESP CD release is a mixture of both sessions (the mastered tape plus the further two unmastered ones -> comprising the second cassette, Burn Baby Burn - 02; this also contained the contents of cassette 01)

Maybe Clifford could shed some light on this

Norman Howard

[H8465-13]

Signals:

Norman Howard (tp) Joe Phillips (as) [aka Yusef Mumin (as) ] Walter Cliff (b) Corney Millsap (d)

Cleveland, Ohio, November, 1968

Soul brother genius Homeboy Music (Scot)1 [Cass], 2 [Cass]

Burn, baby, burn - -

Haunted - -

Bug out - -

Deep black mystery - -

Soul resurrection - -

Divine tiding -

Sound from there -

Satan's village -

Sadness holiday -

Time and units -

Burn, baby, burn (#2?) -

[clifford_thornton]

Right, Burn, Baby, Burn includes ESP 1073 and unmastered sessions/rehearsals.

I don't have the ESP CD handy (just kept a burn of Burn, Baby, Burn) but recall some of the takes were edited and the timings are pretty off from the cassette rip. A couple of titles were changed, too. "Divine Tiding" = NXJX, for example. I believe "Soul Brother Genius" is titled Sound from There on the CD. Etc.

Wish I had the cassette issue; I'd pay big bucks if one is for sale!

[jayalexander]

So is Rollins' 2.13.16 label active? I did some research and was not able to find any music material actually released by the label. If they are buying up the rights to this stuff I would be interested in seeing what else they have brewing.

[B. Clugston]

So is Rollins' 2.13.16 label active? I did some research and was not able to find any music material actually released by the label. If they are buying up the rights to this stuff I would be interested in seeing what else they have brewing.

I don't know how active 2.13.61 is at the moment, but lots of stuff has been released over the years, including Charles Gayle and Matthew Shipp CDs.