Jimmy Owens (musician)


Jimmy Owens is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, lecturer, and educator. He has played with Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Herbie Mann, among many others. Since 1969, he has led his own group, Jimmy Owens Plus.
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Biography

Jimmy Owens was born in New York City, New York, United States. He is a jazz trumpeter and, in addition, plays the flugelhorn. He is also a composer, lecturer, arranger and music education consultant, harnessing more than 45 years of musical experience. Owens does not have an enormous number of recordings as a leader; however, his career was instead nourished through session work with groups and band leaders. His encounter with music encompasses a vast range of intercontinental musical success including ballets, movie scores, serving as a band leader and even creating orchestral compositions. He has performed with jazz musicians such as Max Roach, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Kenny Barron, Count Basie, Benny Golson, Billy Taylor, Lionel Hampton, Hank Crawford, and Gerald Wilson among others. All throughout his musical career, Owens demonstrated his understanding of the jazz concepts, but also illustrates a proficient comprehension of the blues style, and provided musically emotional atmospheres for ballads.

1950s and 1960s

Owens began playing the trumpet at the age of fourteen under the tutelage of Donald Byrd and later studied music composition with Henry Brant. At the age of fifteen, Owens had the opportunity of sitting in with Miles Davis' band; however, he did not record with them. In the late 1960s, he was a member of Marshall Brown’s Newport Youth Band. Owens graduated from The High School of Music & Art in New York City when he was aged 14, and subsequently attended the University of Massachusetts, where he obtained his master's degree in Education. In the 1960s, he was a member of the hybrid classical and rock band Ars Nova. After Ars Nova ended, he was a member of the New York Jazz Sextet. Among the members of this group at various times were Sir Roland Hanna, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Benny Golson, Hubert Laws, and Tom McIntosh. In addition, he has led his own group, Jimmy Owens Plus, since the 1970s, touring and playing in festivals and concerts. His performances with his band have taken him to Asia, South and Central America, the Middle East and various parts of Europe. In 1969, he helped found Collective Black Artist, a non-profit jazz education and performing organization. Between 1969 and 1972, Owens was a sideman on The David Frost Show, whose musical director was Dr. Billy Taylor. Sidemen in this group included Frank Wess, Seldon Powell, Barry Galbraith, and Bob Cranshaw. Stepping into adulthood, Owens had already established a good reputation for himself that led him to the opportunities such as touring France with Duke Ellington.

1970s

Jimmy Owens toured France again in 1971 with the Young Giants of Jazz, performed with radio orchestras in Germany and the Netherlands, and also played with Chuck Israels’ National Jazz Ensemble. At the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival, Owens was one of the youngest trumpet players present to participate in a tribute that was played in the honor Louis Armstrong. That same year, Owens released his first album, No Escaping It, on which he seamlessly demonstrated his musical edge while maintaining a warm tone, along with decisive notation. In 1972, he was chosen to play a trumpet tribute for past trumpeters, such as Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge, at the inaugural Ellington Fellowship Concert that was held at Yale University. In the 1970s, Owens did a great deal of travelling and began doing yearly European Tours in Spain, France, Italy, Denmark, England, the Netherlands, and Sweden. During this time, he was shown a great amount of appreciation in orchestral and symphonic music through his guest appearances with the Southern University Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphony of the New World, and the Hannover Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. One of his performance highlights of the 1970s was the tour he took in the U.S. called, Western States Arts Foundation Tour. After his first album, he released three more albums titled, Jimmy Owens, Young Man on the Move and Heading Home; all of which were released the 1970s. In 1972, Owens began giving back to the community by becoming a member of the National Endowment for the Arts music panel up until 1976. This organization sought to aid in funding numerous organizations and individual artists. From 1977 to 1981, he was a member of the music panel for the New York State Council on the Arts, which funded New York State cultural organizations.

1980s

In the 1980s, Owens demonstrated no lack in the passion that he held for music. He continued venturing overseas, and played in a variety festivals and concerts in different countries. He also performed concerts in the Middle East and Africa during his Tour of North Africa and the Middle East, U.S. State Department. Jimmy Owens Plus also toured South American in their South American Tour and also performed across Central America in their Tour of Caribbean, Central and South America. Owens received several awards during the 1980s including the 'Survival of the Black Artist Award' from Howard University, the International Success Award from the Marabu Club in Italy, and the "Manhattan Borough President’s Award for Excellence in the Arts". In 1989, Owens released an album called The Jazz Mobile Allstars, featuring Billy Taylor, Frank Wess, Victor Gaskin, Ted Dunbar and Bobby Thomas.

1990s

In 1990, the Jazz Musicians' Emergency Fund was founded to help individual musicians with medical, financial, and housing assistance after Jamil Nasser and Jimmy Owens presented this idea to the board. Both Nasser and Owens felt it was very important to help individual jazz musicians rather than organizations. This program not only provided financial assistance, but it also offered counseling in career development as well as substance abuse. In that same year, Owens took a part-time position as an instructor at the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program, where he taught private lessons, the business aspects of the music industry and various ensemble classes. In the 1990s, he attended quite a few jazz festivals in Austria, England and in the U.S., while serving as a guest soloist to a variety of bands’ performances in America and Europe. In 1996, Bob Crenshaw, Jamil Nasser, Benny Powell and Owens helped to revitalize the Jazz Advisory Committee at Local 802 in New York City. This particular commission advises Local 802 on the conflicts surrounding most jazz artists and seeks methods of resolution. Owens was also a member of the negotiating committee to secure health and pension benefits, along with schedule wage increases for the faculty at the New School.

2000s

In the new millennium, Jimmy Owens remained moderately involved within programs and events that give back to numerous communities. He performed at a variety of events such as Giants of Jazz in New Jersey, the Cab Calloway Tribute in Japan, and the Dizzie Gillespie Tribute in New York City. He appeared at numerous festivals across the globe such as the Graz Jazz Festival in Graz, Austria, the World Music Festival in Bahia, Brazil, the Novokuznesk Jazz Festival in Siberia, several celebrations in Italy and the Jazz Town Jazz Club in Moscow, Russia. In 2007, he released an album called Peaceful Walking, which was recorded in Italy and contains original songs performed with Great Italian trio Capiozzo- Mecco & Santimone. In 2012, he released an album entitled Monk Project, which commemorates the life and musical innovation of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, who died in 1982.

Conclusion

Owens is an active member of the jazz education community. He also sits on the board of the Jazz Foundation of America, which was founded in 1989. He is an innovative and highly skilled jazz artist whose eclecticism incorporates every aspect of jazz music and artistry. His accomplishments are momentous and noteworthy. Not only does his professional musicianship merit acknowledgement and respect, but his role of being an outspoken advocate concerning the welfare of musicians and the jazz culture of America reflects his generosity towards others. He is also a revered composer whose works have been, and still are, performed nationally by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra and various orchestras; also, his music can be heard internationally by the Metropole Orchestra in the Netherlands and the Hanover Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany. His career as a music educator has led him to positions conducting workshops, teaching seminars, giving lectures, and holding concerts at numerous institutes around the world.
In 1972 and on the night of the visiting fellows program in honor of Duke Ellington, Owens recalls the night:
"I was center stage with some of the greatest men in the history of Jazz, and I wanted to perform something really meaningful. Since Jazz music has its roots in spirituals that later developed into the blues, I wanted to express my respect for these men by performing a spiritual and the blues. I looked around. I saw Eubie Blake, Benny Carter, Johnny Hodges, and Paul Robeson. I was standing in the midst of so many of the African American people who had contributed significantly to the history of American culture. What an incredible moment it was! It reconfirmed for me what I had learned in my travels as an artist. Jazz is the heartbeat of the world."

Discography

As leader

You Had Better Listen with Kenny Barron No Escaping It Jimmy Owens Headin' Home Peaceful Walking
  • ''Monk Project''

As sideman

;With Curtis AmyMustang
With Louis Armstrong
With Bill BarronJazz Caper Variations in Blue The Next Plateau
With Kenny BarronInnocence
With Gary BartzLibra
With Willie BoboA New Dimension
With Kenny BurrellBlues - The Common Ground
With Jaki ByardOn the Spot!
With Billy CobhamSpectrum
With Hank CrawfordDig These Blues
With Duke Ellington & Teresa BrewerIt Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
With Teddy EdwardsIt's All Right!
With Dizzy GillespieThe Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band
With Billy HarperCapra Black
With Milt JacksonBorn Free
With The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis OrchestraOpening Night – earlier issue on AGP
With Clifford JordanSoul Fountain
With Eric KlossFirst Class Kloss! Life Force We're Goin' Up
With Yusef LateefYusef Lateef's Detroit Part of the Search
With Hubert LawsLaws' Cause
With Junior ManceI Believe to My Soul
With Herbie MannOur Mann Flute Impressions of the Middle East The Herbie Mann String Album
With Les McCannComment
With Charles MingusMusic Written for Monterey 1965
With James MoodyMoody and the Brass Figures
With Oliver NelsonOliver Edward Nelson in London with Oily Rags
With David "Fathead" NewmanBigger & Better
With Archie SheppThe Way Ahead For Losers Kwanza
With Billy Taylor
With Buddy TerryElectric Soul!
With Charles TolliverImpact
With Joe ZawinulThe Rise and Fall of the Third Stream Zawinul
With Larry Willis
With Gerald WilsonThe Golden Sword New York, New Sound In My Time Monterey Moods Detroit
With All Star groupOne More: Music of Thad Jones Vol 1 One More: The Summary - Music of Thad Jones Vol 2
With others

Education

Performance highlights

Jimmy Owens Plus...
  • Fordham University, Bronx African and African-American History Project Jazz Foundation of America Loft Party The Monk Influence, Celebration of Thelonious Monk’s 90th Birthday, New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music
  • Fordham University, Bronx African and African-American History Project, Bronx, NY Tour of Caribbean, Central and South America South American Tour Jazz in Grande Motte, France with Jimmy Owens Plus..., Max Roach and Chico Freeman Tour of North Africa and the Middle East, U.S. State Department Senegal’s 20th Independence Anniversary Concert and African Tour Western States Arts Foundation Tour Manhattan House of Detention Concert Series
  • Yearly European Tours including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, England Kongsberg Jazz Festival, Norway
Jimmy OwensA Touch of Taylor, Salute to Billy Taylor, New York, NY Celebrating Billy Strayhorn, St. Peter's Church, New York, NY
  • University of Pittsburgh Jazz Seminar, Pittsburgh, PA Celebrating Billie Holiday, St. Peter's Church, New York, NY Giants of Jazz, South Orange, NJ
Honors and awards