As a jazz fan, you may not be familiar with Chuck Owen, but you should. Chuck is a composer-arranger who has just released an album that features him conducting the WDR Big Band playing his original compositions and arrangements. The WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany, is one of the finest and most prestigious jazz orchestras in the world, and Chuck's new album is remarkable and enveloping. Think Thad Jones/Mel Lewis meets Rob McConnell and Francy Boland.
Born in Norfolk, Va., Chuck grew up in Omaha, Neb., before his family moved to Cincinnati. After a year at the College of Wooster in Ohio, Chuck transferred to the University of North Texas where he received an undergraduate degree in music education, with a focus on trombone.
At the university, he found a large number of mentors and a dozen jazz “lab” bands all hungry for new music. He happily obliged. After graduation, he went on to earn a master’s degree in orchestral conducting at California State University, Northridge. Following grad school, he remained in Los Angeles for a few years freelancing and apprenticing with leading film and TV composer Patrick Williams through an NEA study grant.
In 1981, Chuck moved with his wife and family to Tampa, Fla., to join the jazz-studies faculty at the University of South Florida. There he helped build a monumental jazz program from scratch, designing the curriculum and degree programs. Chuck earned the title of distinguished university professor and was awarded USF's Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, President’s Award for Faculty Excellence, and the Outstanding Research Award.
In 2004, Chuck founded the USF Center for Jazz Composition, which focuses on the role of the composer in jazz and assists in composers' continuing development. The CJC launched several prominent programs, including the Jazz Composers’ Symposium, the International Jazz Arranging Competition and Central Florida’s Jazz Masterworks Series. He went on to found the ISJAC—the International Society of Jazz Arrangers & Composers—in 2015.
In August of 2021, after 40 years, Chuck retired from the University of South Florida and was named professor emeritus. He continues to serve as President of ISJAC and served as president of IAJE. He also served as a panelist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music, the National Endowment for the Arts, ASCAP, the Recording Academy, the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs and numerous other groups.
Since 1995, Owen has led the19-piece Jazz Surge band, serving as conductor as well as primary composer and arranger. The band has recorded seven albums, including the Grammy-nominated Whispers on the Wind.
Which brings us to his new album, Renderings. The album took two years to record as a result of the pandemic. When Chuck returned to Cologne, Germany, in the spring of 2021 to resume work on the project, more than a year had passed since he worked with the large ensemble.
There's a great deal of Thad Jones/Mel Lewis in Chuck's arrangements, and the WDR Big Band delivers with precision, swing and feeling. It's easily the finest big band album of the year thus far.
The band's personnel:
- Woodwinds—Johan Hörlén, Karolina Strassmayer, Gabor Bolla, Olivier Peters, Paul Heller and Jens Neufang.
- Trumpets—Wim Both, Andy Haderer, Rob Bruynen and Ruud Breuls.
- Trombones—Ludwig Nuss, Raphael Klemm, Andy Hunter and Mattis Cederberg.
- Rhythm section—Billy Test (piano and organ), Philipp Brämswig (guitar), John Goldsby (bass) and Hans Dekker (drums).
- Special guest—Sara Caswell.
Every track is a work of extraordinary art, with sighing brass, edgy lines that resolve beautifully and aching swells and builds. I'm not ordinarily a fan of the violin in a jazz setting, but the album's special guest, Sara Caswell, is exquisite and plays with a rich woodwind feel. Hopefully, Chuck will produce another album with the WDR Big Band soon. This first release tells you everything you need to know about him.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Chuck Owen's Renderings (Mama Records) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Knife's Edge...
Here's A Ridge Away...
Bonus: To watch videos of these songs being recorded in the studio, go here.
