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Conrad Herwig: A Voice Through the Door
by C. Andrew Hovan
In the challenging economic and political climate of present day, it seems that much time is spent on matters of only fleeting importance. Furthermore, it seems that our culture has experienced a paradigm shift that places more emphasis on immediacy and instant fulfillment and less on rumination and appreciation of more profound matters. On the one hand come the duties and obligations that embody day to day survival, but there is also a need for balance. It is this current ...
read moreRalph Bowen: Standard Deviation
by Glenn Astarita
Tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen (Out Of The Blue, Horace Silver, Michel Camillo) is a highly regarded New York-based artiste and an idea man who can stand with the best of them. With his fifth solo venture for Posi- Tone Records Bowen tackles standards, and as the title intimates, he often deviates from the norm. Jerome Kern's “Yesterdays" receives a Latin uplift, sparked by venerable pianist Bill O'Connell's topsy-turvy opening statements and bristling unison choruses with the rhythm section. ...
read moreRalph Bowen: The Power Play
by Diana Kondrashin
[Editor's Note: A shorter version of this interview was originally published at Jazz.Ru. It has been translated and expanded exclusively for All About Jazz.]Ralph Bowen was born in Canada but he has pursued a jazz career in the United States for over 20 years, as tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger. He strikes neatly with his recordings as a leader, just like it was done last year with Total Eclipse, an album recorded with his quartet: organist Jared Gold, ...
read moreRalph Bowen: Power Play
by Bruce Lindsay
With over 20 years experience as a recording artist and composer, saxophonist Ralph Bowen has a mastery of straight-ahead jazz that is immediately apparent on Power Play, his third album for the Posi-Tone label. Bowen's first two Posi-Tone releases, 2009's Dedicated and 2010's Due Reverence were quintet recordings. For Power Play, he trims down to an all-new quartet lineup, but it still swings. On the album's opener, “K. D.'s Blues," Bowen jumps straight in with a hard-edged ...
read moreRalph Bowen: Power Play
by Mark Corroto
The inscription on saxophonist Ralph Bowen's business card probably should read “solid citizen," because his post-bop jazz conception has always been steadfast and dependable. With Power Play, he only adds to his stalwart reputation. Together with bassist Kenny Davis, Bowen was picked, in the mid-1980s, to spearhead the return of Blue Note Records in the all-star band Out Of The Blue. Along with the likes of Michael Philip Mossman, Kenny Garrett, and Ralph Peterson, OTB revived the classic ...
read moreRalph Bowen: Power Play
by Dan Bilawsky
Saxophonist Ralph Bowen has always been an original, despite being tagged as one of the neo-traditionalist young lions of the '80s. A quarter century has gone by since Bowen came to semi-prominence as a member of Out Of The Blue, yet this mega-talent still manages to fly just under the radar, despite impressive dates like this one. Power Play is a sharp departure from Bowen's previous Posi-Tone albums, which were built on an all-star guitar-bass-drums rhythm section, ...
read moreRalph Bowen: Due Reverence
by John Patten
Saxophonist Ralph Bowen's Due Reverence is a too-short set of tributes to horn players who've made an impression on Bowen. The five tunes were written in the styles of players Ted Dunbar, Bob Mintzer, James Scott, Phil Nimmons and Robert Dick.Bowen gets backing from a strong quartet--Sean Jones on trumpet, Adam Rogers on guitar, John Patitucci on bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums. The combination of competently-crafted tunes from Bowen (director of jazz ensembles at Rutgers), played by ...
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