Bay Area tenor and soprano saxophonist, composer, producer, vocalist, and educator Richard Howell leads Sudden Changes, an improvising ensemble shaped by jazz, soul, funk, blues, and spiritual music.
Home base: Bay Area, California
Styles: Jazz, Soul Jazz, Funk, Blues, Improvised Music
Instruments: Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Vocals, Percussion, Composition
Band: Core and featured personnel have included Frederick Harris, piano; Charles McNeal, alto saxophone; Elé Salif Howell, drums; Ravi Abcarian, bass; Jasim Peralas, trombone
Richard Howell is a Bay Area saxophonist, composer, producer, vocalist, and educator. His music connects jazz improvisation with soul, funk, blues, percussion-driven groove, and spiritual themes.
Howell grew up in Los Angeles, where he moved among jazz, salsa, funk, and R&B. In the early 1980s, he made his Bay Area jazz debut with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins. He later toured and performed with Etta James and Chaka Khan.
Howell leads Sudden Changes, an ensemble that centers original music, collective interplay, and spontaneous composition. The group includes Bay Area musicians Frederick Harris, Charles McNeal, Elé Salif Howell, Ravi Abcarian, and Jasim Peralas. Howell also leads the Joy Protocol Ensemble. Its release Our Purpose continues his Bridge Music approach, connecting jazz, rhythm, and community.
Richard Howell and Sudden Changes
Richard Howell and Sudden Changes at The Deluxe features the veteran Bay Area tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator leading his protean jazz ensemble through surging energy, quicksilver improvisation, and spiritually charged original music. Rooted in the legacy of John Coltrane, Sudden Changes merges jazz with soul, funk, gospel, and global influences, using collective interplay to...
Richard Howell’s Sudden Changes at Mr. Tipples is led by the Bay Area saxophonist, vocalist, composer, producer, and educator whose spontaneous, spiritually charged “Bridge Music” connects Modern Jazz with Funk, Soul, African and Latin rhythmic traditions, and expressive improvisation. Howell’s broad musical life includes work with Etta James, Chaka Khan, Maurice White, Don Cherry, Charlie...
Richard Howell’s Sudden Changes at Mr Tipples is led by the Bay Area saxophonist, vocalist, composer, producer, and educator whose spontaneous, spiritually charged “Bridge Music” connects Modern Jazz with Funk, Soul, African and Latin rhythmic traditions, and expressive improvisation. Howell’s broad musical life includes work with Etta James, Chaka Khan, Maurice White, Don Cherry, Charlie...
Richard Howell - John Coltrane Tribute at Mr. Tipples features Howell on tenor saxophone, Frank Martin on piano, Ron Belcher on bass, and Deszon Claiborne on drums. A longtime Bay Area saxophonist, composer, and educator, Howell approaches Coltrane’s legacy through what he calls “Bridge Music”—jazz that connects listeners across generations and backgrounds, rooted in the...