Joseph H. Howard

Joseph H. Howard (1912 - 1994) was born in Venezuela and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Howard was an oral surgeon by profession who collected drums from around the world in his spare time. Over the years he amassed the largest collection of authentic drums in the Americas. Recently, his collection has been featured, along with elements of the Fernando Ortiz estate in a touring exhibit [http://users.erols.com/maga2000/latinmusic/exhibitions.htm Ritmos de Identidad] by the Smithsonian.

Growing up in Chicago Dr. Howard was fascinated with rhythm and drumming. Before he owned even one drum he would make improvised instruments out of whatever was around him. He attended Fisk University for his undergraduate degree and earned his doctorate at the University of Illinois in dental surgery. After marrying Tommy Berry in 1946 they relocated to Los Angeles in 1952, where Howard was exposed to a rich Latin drumming tradition. Howards own mixed heritage, being of African, European and East Indian descent, was a constant backdrop to his musical interests. His daughter Victoria describes her father's passion as a "pursuit of identity through the eye of the drum." He often described his family as "the fruit of the cross of cultures."

Dr. & Mrs. Howard were both passionate collectors. She preferred African art, while his primary interest was in all things musical, for he not only collected the drums of many nations. He also collected stamps, books, photos, instrument making techniques and instruments to accompany the drums. He had a particular interest in the musical heritage of the Djuka people of Surinam and not only collected their instruments, but also acquired elaborately hand-carved furniture, including the double doors to his home. At first glance many of these items could easily be confused with African artifacts, but stylistically African instruments have become more utilitarian over the years. As Dr. Howard pointed out, to this researcher, during a visit to his home the Djuka people had maintained their culture in stasis due to the isolated nature of their existence.

Because of the nature of his profession, Dr. Howard was able to arrange his schedule to accommodate yearly excursions abroad looking for folk instruments, which he defined as being those instruments that the folk actually used. In all of his collecting he always looked to purchase the instruments of the musicians themselves, as opposed to acquiring tourist versions of the instruments.

Over the years his research led him to write several books and articles including the classic book [http://lccn.loc.gov/67015826 Drums in the Americas] and a catalog of the instruments in his collection which was meticulously cross-referenced and indexed. Dr. Howard understood drums to be sources of cultural history and pride, as evidenced by their place of honor in his home.

The complete collection amounts to nearly 800 drums and other musical instruments from throughout the world. This unique ensemble represents musical traditions in Asia, the Pacific region, Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Following his death in 1994 Victoria Howard sought to keep the memory of her father alive by contracting with [http://www.cafam.org/ The Craft and Folk Art Museum] to put on an exhibit of her father's instruments. The event was so successful that other museums, including the [http://users.erols.com/maga2000/latinmusic/exhibitions.htm Smithsonian Latin Program] created their own traveling exhibits using a selection of instruments from the Howard collection and the estate of Fernando Ortiz.

[http://users.erols.com/maga2000/latinmusic/exhibitions.htm Ritmos de Identidad: Fernando Ortíz’s Legacy and the Howard Collection of Percussion Instruments] features more than 80 rare musical instruments from the Dr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Howard Family Collection. Included are hand-painted sacred and secular drums, rattles and other percussion instruments from the Caribbean, South America and West Africa. The exhibit includes a variety of instruments made from "found objects", such as - a hoe blade and jaw bone, right alongside artifacts employing complex strung heads and tuning mechanisms. The collection is on loan from Victoria R. Howard.

As Victoria Howard describes her life with father, she points out the fact that he involved the whole family in the process. His son Brock was the chief transcriptionist, while she was the artist. Their collective job was to research and catalog their growing collection. Summers, weekends and after school, anytime that was not occupied with some other activity was used. All their summer vacations were dedicated to the process of collecting the instruments. As we see the collection today it shows.

Bibliography

* [http://lccn.loc.gov/67015826 Drums in the Americas] (1967)
* [http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Drums-From_the_Tropics_to_the_Arctic_Circle/0960949011/ Drums: from the tropics to the Arctic Circle] (1982)

Related Recordings

* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001380M6K/ref=dm_dp_trk7?ie=UTF8&qid=1217787450&sr=103-1 Oyin Momo Ado by Babatunde Olatunji]
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S9DI8O/ref=dm_sp_alb?ie=UTF8&qid=1217786886&sr=8-17 Raices Latinas: Smithsonian Folkways Latino Roots Collection]
* [http://www.amazon.com/Afro-Roots/dp/B000UBJV5O/ref=dm_ap_alb18?ie=UTF8&qid=1217787274&sr=101-11 Afro Roots by Mongo Santamaria]

Links

* [http://users.erols.com/maga2000/latinmusic/exhibitions.htm Smithsonian Latin Program]
* [http://users.erols.com/maga2000/latinmusic/joseph_howard.htm Joseph Howard: The Pursuit of Identity]