Jimmy Owens (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jimmy Owens
Frank Wess and Jimmy Owens in 1977
Background information
Born	(1943-12-09) December 9, 1943 (age 81) New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, arranger, lecturer
Instruments	Trumpet
Labels	Columbia
Associated acts	Ars Nova

Jimmy Owens, born on December 9, 1943, is a talented American jazz musician. He plays the trumpet and is also a composer, arranger, teacher, and speaker. He has performed with many famous jazz artists like Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, and Dizzy Gillespie. Since 1969, he has led his own music group called Jimmy Owens Plus.

About Jimmy Owens

Jimmy Owens was born in New York City, USA. He is known for playing the jazz trumpet and also the flugelhorn. Besides being a musician, he is a composer, a speaker, an arranger, and a consultant for music education. He has over 45 years of experience in music!

Even though he hasn't released a huge number of his own albums, Jimmy Owens has had a very successful career playing with many other groups and band leaders. His musical journey includes creating music for ballets and movies. He has also led his own bands and written music for orchestras. He has performed with jazz legends like Max Roach, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Billy Taylor. Throughout his career, Owens has shown a deep understanding of jazz music. He also plays the blues style very well and creates beautiful, emotional music for slower songs called ballads.

Early Years and Music Career (1950s-1960s)

Jimmy Owens started playing the trumpet when he was 14 years old. He learned from Donald Byrd, a famous trumpeter. Later, he studied how to compose music with Henry Brant. When he was 15, he even got to play with Miles Davis's band, though he didn't record with them.

In the late 1960s, he was part of Marshall Brown’s Newport Youth Band. Jimmy Owens graduated from The High School of Music & Art in New York City. He then went to the University of Massachusetts and earned a master's degree in Education. In the 1960s, he was also a member of a unique band called Ars Nova, which mixed classical and rock music. After Ars Nova, he joined the New York Jazz Sextet. Many great musicians played in this group, including Sir Roland Hanna and Ron Carter.

Since the 1970s, he has led his own group, Jimmy Owens Plus. They have traveled all over the world, performing in Asia, South and Central America, the Middle East, and Europe. In 1969, he helped start Collective Black Artist, a group that teaches about jazz and puts on performances. From 1969 to 1972, Owens was a musician on The David Frost Show, a TV show with Dr. Billy Taylor as the music director. By the time he was an adult, Jimmy Owens had already built a strong reputation, which led to amazing chances like touring France with Duke Ellington.

Traveling and Recording (1970s)

Owens in Rochester, N.Y. in 1978

In 1971, Jimmy Owens toured France again with a group called the Young Giants of Jazz. He also played with radio orchestras in Germany and the Netherlands, and with Chuck Israels’ National Jazz Ensemble. At the 1970 Newport Jazz Festival, Owens was one of the youngest trumpet players to honor Louis Armstrong.

That same year, Owens released his first album, No Escaping It. On this album, he showed off his musical skill while keeping a warm and clear sound. In 1972, he was chosen to play a trumpet tribute for famous trumpeters like Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge. This was at the first Ellington Fellowship Concert at Yale University.

Throughout the 1970s, Owens traveled a lot, doing yearly tours in Europe. He was also highly praised for his orchestral and symphonic music. He made guest appearances with groups like the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Symphony of the New World. One of his most memorable performances in the 1970s was a tour in the U.S. called the Western States Arts Foundation Tour. After his first album, he released three more: Jimmy Owens, Young Man on the Move, and Heading Home.

Jimmy Owens also started giving back to the community. From 1972 to 1976, he was a member of the National Endowment for the Arts music panel. This group helped fund many arts organizations and artists. From 1977 to 1981, he was on the music panel for the New York State Council on the Arts, which supported cultural groups in New York State.

Global Performances and Awards (1980s)

In the 1980s, Jimmy Owens continued to show his strong passion for music. He kept traveling overseas, playing in many festivals and concerts in different countries. He also performed in the Middle East and Africa during a tour with the U.S. State Department in 1981. His group, Jimmy Owens Plus, toured South America in 1983 and 1986, and Central America in 1989.

Owens received several awards during the 1980s. These included the 'Survival of the Black Artist Award' from Howard University in 1980, the International Success Award from the Marabu Club in Italy in 1983, and the "Manhattan Borough President’s Award for Excellence in the Arts" in 1986. In 1989, Owens released an album called The Jazz Mobile Allstars, which featured other great musicians like Billy Taylor and Frank Wess.

Helping Musicians and Teaching (1990s)

In 1990, Jimmy Owens and Jamil Nasser came up with an important idea: to create the Jazz Musicians' Emergency Fund. This fund was started to help individual musicians with medical, financial, and housing needs. Both Owens and Nasser believed it was very important to help individual jazz musicians directly. This program not only offered money but also provided advice on career development.

In the same year, Owens started teaching part-time at the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program. He taught private lessons, explained the business side of the music industry, and led different music classes. In the 1990s, he attended many jazz festivals in Austria, England, and the U.S. He also performed as a guest soloist with various bands in America and Europe.

In 1996, Bob Crenshaw, Jamil Nasser, Benny Powell, and Owens helped restart the Jazz Advisory Committee at Local 802 in New York City. This committee advises Local 802 on problems that most jazz artists face and tries to find solutions. Owens was also part of the team that worked to get health and pension benefits, along with better pay, for the teachers at the New School.

Continuing Contributions (2000s)

In the new millennium, Jimmy Owens stayed involved in programs and events that help different communities. He performed at various events like Giants of Jazz in New Jersey (from 2002 to 2009), the Cab Calloway Tribute in Japan (2005), and the Dizzy Gillespie Tribute in New York City (from 2005 to 2007).

He appeared at many festivals around the world, such as the Graz Jazz Festival in Austria (2004), the World Music Festival in Brazil (2005), and the Novokuznesk Jazz Festival in Siberia (2005). He also performed at several celebrations in Italy and at the Jazz Town Jazz Club in Moscow, Russia (2005).

In 2007, he released an album called Peaceful Walking, which was recorded in Italy. It features his original songs played with a great Italian trio. In 2012, he released another album titled Monk Project. This album honors the life and amazing music of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, who passed away in 1982.

Jimmy Owens' Legacy

Jimmy Owens is an active member of the jazz education community. He is also on the board of the Jazz Foundation of America, which was started in 1989. He is a very creative and skilled jazz artist who understands every part of jazz music. His achievements are very important and worth noting.

Not only is he a respected professional musician, but he is also a strong supporter of musicians' well-being and the jazz culture in America. This shows how generous he is towards others. He is also a highly respected composer. His music has been, and still is, performed by orchestras across the country, like the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. His music can also 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 lead workshops, teach seminars, give lectures, and hold concerts at many places around the world.

In 1972, on the night of a special program honoring Duke Ellington, Owens remembered the moment: "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

Albums as a Leader

• You Had Better Listen with Kenny Barron (1967)
• No Escaping It (1970)
• Jimmy Owens (1976)
• Headin' Home (1978)
• Peaceful Walking (2007)
• Monk Project (2012)

Albums as a Sideman (Selected)

Jimmy Owens has played on many albums with other artists, including:

• With Louis Armstrong: Louis Armstrong and His Friends (1970)
• With Kenny Barron: Innocence (1978)
• With Billy Cobham: Spectrum (1973)
• With Hank Crawford: Dig These Blues (1966)
• With Duke Ellington & Teresa Brewer: It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing (1973)
• With Dizzy Gillespie: The Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band (1968)
• With Herbie Mann: Our Mann Flute (1966)
• With Charles Mingus: Music Written for Monterey 1965 (1965)
• With Archie Shepp: The Way Ahead (1968)
• With Billy Taylor: The Jazzmobile Allstars (1989)
• With Joe Zawinul: Zawinul (1970)
• With Gerald Wilson: The Golden Sword (1966)

Education and Awards

Education

• Master's Degree in Education (M.Ed.), University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (1975)
• Private composition studies with Henry Brant, New York, NY (1965–66)
• Private trumpet lessons with Carmine Caruso (1961–63) and Dr. Donald Byrd (1958–60)
• Graduated from High School of Music and Art, New York, NY (1961)

Honors and Awards

Jimmy Owens has received many awards for his contributions to music:

• A. B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy (2012)
• Benny Golson Jazz Master Award, Howard University (2008)
• Lifetime Achievement Award, New York Brass Conference (2007)
• Dr. Billy Taylor Humanitarian Award, Jazz Foundation of America (2002)
• Manhattan Borough President's Award for Excellence in the Arts (1986)
• International Success Award, Marabu Club, Italy (1983)
• Survival of the Black Artist Award, Howard University, Washington, DC (1980)
• Presidential Citation, Clark College, Atlanta, GA (1972)
• America Achievement Award, Jazz at Home Club of America (1972)
• Winner of competition to join Newport Youth Band (1959)