Howard Wales | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 8, 1943 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 2020(2020-12-07) (aged 77) Redding, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock,jazz |
| Instrument | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1960s–2020 |
| Website | howardwales |
Howard Wales (February 8, 1943 – December 7, 2020) was an Americankeyboardist who worked in a wide variety of styles. He was a collaborator withJerry Garcia in the early 1970s.[1][2][3][4][5]
Wales was a session player for many musical acts, includingRonnie Hawkins,Freddie King,James Brown, and theFour Tops.[3] Though he was adept at accompanying rock and R&B artists, he also played free-form jazz. Later in his career he released several solo albums in this style.
For several months in 1970, Wales led Monday night jazz-rock jam sessions atthe Matrix, a club in San Francisco. Jerry Garcia usually played guitar at these free-form performances. The two were often joined byJohn Kahn on bass andBill Vitt on drums. A studio album calledHooteroll?, with these musicians and others, and featuring music composed mostly by Wales, was released in 1971.[6][7] A live album recorded at the Matrix jam sessions,Side Trips, Volume One, was released in 1998.
Wales contributed to the 1970Grateful Dead albumAmerican Beauty. He played organ on the songs "Truckin' " and "Candyman", and piano on "Brokedown Palace".[2][3]
Wales had acerebral hemorrhage in November 2020 and died on December 7, 2020, at the age of 77.[2][3][4][8]
Howard Wales
Howard Wales and Jerry Garcia
With other artists
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