Howard Alden

Howard Alden (born October 17, 1958) is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. He has recorded a long series of albums for Concord Records. His performances were dubbed over Sean Penn as 'Emmet Ray' in the 1999 Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown. Howard has recorded four albums with seven-string guitar innovator George Van Eps.

Early life
Howard Alden was born in Newport Beach, California in 1958. 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. He studied guitar with Jimmy Wyble when he was 16. By 1977 he was studying jazz guitar at the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, California with Howard Roberts.

Career
Alden made his first trip to the east coast in the summer of 1979, playing in a trio led by the legendary vibist Red Norvo for 3 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 Concord Jazz record label, and recorded many albums with them over the following fifteen years as a bandleader and as a sideman.

Personal life
Alden lives in Manhattan.

Other endeavors
He taught actor Sean Penn to convincingly mime playing guitar for his role as the legendary (but fictional) jazz guitarist "Emmett Ray" in the Woody Allen film "Sweet and Lowdown". Alden also performed most of the music for the film along with Bucky Pizzarelli on rhythm guitar, with the music arranged by pianist Dick Hyman.

Awards

 * 1990 - "Best Emerging Guitar Talent" poll winner in JazzTimes
 * 1992 - "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" from Down Beat
 * 1993 - "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" from Down Beat
 * 1995 - "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" from Down Beat
 * 1996 - "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" from Down Beat
 * 2008 - Recognized as one of the "Top 75 Guitarists" by Down Beat