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Gregory "Greg" Howe (born December 8, 1963) is an American guitarist and composer. As an active musician for over twenty years, he has released nine studio albums in addition to collaborating with a wide variety of artists.[2]
Biography
Howe began his solo career during the 1980s shred era, joining Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records label and releasing his self-titled debut album, Greg Howe, in 1988. An article in Guitar World ranked this album in 2009 as tenth in the all-time top ten list of shred albums.[3]
His next album, Introspection, was released five years later in 1993. At this point, he began to demonstrate a significant stylistic change which remains prevalent to this day; incorporating elements of jazz fusion into his playing, as well as borrowing heavily from the legato-based technique of fellow guitarist Allan Holdsworth, all whilst mixing in a bluesy, groove-laden vibe and the frequent use of odd time signatures.
With the release of altogether five solo albums during the 1990s, he also participated in two collaborations with Richie Kotzen: Tilt and Project, in 1995 and 1997 respectively. At the end of the millennium, he briefly adopted a heavier, neo-classical approach for his 1999 release, Ascend, which featured Ukrainian keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij.
He once again changed his musical style in 2000, with Hyperacuity—an experimental album which displayed almost none of the instrumental rock elements of his debut. Following an extended hiatus after the 2003 release of Extraction (which featured bassist Victor Wooten and drummer Dennis Chambers), he returned with a new studio album entitled Sound Proof in 2008, which has since indicated a subtle shift to a style more reminiscent of his 1990s work.
Apart from his solo career Greg Howe made himself available as a sideman for pop superstars, filling in for guitarist Jennifer Batten in 1997 on Michael Jackson's History tour throughout Europe and Asia. In 2000 Greg did a promotional tour of the U.S. involving numerous high exposure television appearances as well as a tour in Europe with pop star Enrique Iglesias. He also made two separate tours of the states in 2001 and 2002 as the lead guitarist for NSYNC, one of which was stadium shows exclusively. In 2003 Greg did a promotional tour with Justin Timberlake, although ultimately ended up having to leave in order to complete work on his 2003 release "Extraction", the critically acclaimed all-star funk fusion extravaganza, featuring electric bass virtuoso Victor Wooten ( of the flecktones ) and the legendary drummer Dennis Chambers. In February 2009 Greg teamed back up with Justin Timberlake to perform with JT and T.I. at the 51st Grammy’s Award Show.[4]
In 2009 Greg Howe also joined and performed along side Eddie Jobson's Ultimate Zero (UZ) project. The line-up also featured John Wetton, Tony Levin, Simon Phillips, and Marco Minnemann.[5]
He currently resides in Long Beach, California (having previously lived in Easton, Pennsylvania until around 2006[6]), and is working as a producer, session musician, and guitar instructor.
Discography
Studio albums
Collaboration albums
Other album appearances
References
External links
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