Howard Johnson (jazz musician)

Howard Johnson
Howard Johnson in 2013
Background information
Born	August 7, 1941 Montgomery, Alabama
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Jazz musician
Instruments	Tuba, baritone saxophone, various instruments

Howard Lewis Johnson (born August 7, 1941) in Montgomery, Alabama, is an American jazz musician known mainly for his work on tuba and baritone saxophone, although he also plays the bass clarinet, trumpet and other reed instruments.

Johnson has accompanied George Gruntz extensively. As a leader, he released three albums during the 1990s for Verve Records, the first Arrival, a tribute to Pharoah Sanders.

In the 1960s he worked with Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Archie Shepp, and Hank Mobley on the album A Slice of the Top. He also began a long association with Gil Evans in 1966. He was arranger of a horn section that backed Taj Mahal on Mahal's 1971 live album, The Real Thing, which featured three other tubists/multi-instrumentalists, Bob Stewart, Joseph Daley and Earl McIntyre. Johnson also played with The Band on their Rock of Ages live album, The Last Waltz and into the late 2000s with The Band drummer, Levon Helm's Band. During the 1970s, he was the live band conductor of the Saturday Night Live Band; he can be seen in several musical numbers, including playing bass saxophone in the King Tut sketch.