INTRODUCTION TO THE HOWARD ROBERTS GUITAR STYLE
by Wolf Marshall
"Soft Winds" from Howard
Roberts’ mid-1960s classic All-Time Great Instrumental Hits (Capitol 2609)
is a reworking of the Benny Goodman-Fletcher Henderson swing blues tune originally
recorded by the Goodman Sextet featuring Charlie Christian. Howard transformed the piece
into a slow funk number which was the perfect vehicle for his blues-rock-funk
inclinations. The opening phrase of his solo is a quintessential HR line and offers a
capsule view of his pioneering fusion style. HR recorded with his Epiphone Howard Roberts
model guitar strung with heavy strings and Benson amp at this juncture in his career.
Play Audio and Listen
This intro
phrase is made predominately of 16th-note rhythms which create a propulsive double-time
feel in relation to the basic slow-funk pulse of the tune.
Howard’s use of
vibrato and typical blues/rock phrasing and ornamentation make this phrase very funky
indeed. The lick would sound at home in a Stevie Ray Vaughan solo.
The background chord
is A7. Following blues and rock conventions, Howard’s line is in the A minor
pentatonic scale (A-C-D-E-G) for the most part. Significant added notes include the ninth
B (slid into C) and the major third C# (hammered on from C). Both occur in measure 1.
These color tones are classic blues and rock gestures and are used here in the same way as
would be found in solos by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck.
