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Nobu Stowe

Nobu Stowe (Nobuyoshi Suto) was born in Maebashi, Gumma, Japan. He started taking piano lessons at age 3 and composition at age 6. Stowe moved to the US to study Music (composition) and Psychology at the University of California, at Berkeley. He then moved to Chicago to pursue graduate studies at the University of Chicago. After receiving Ph.D. in Psychology, he moved to Baltimore to work as a ‘drug researcher’ for National Institute of Health, and currently conducts researches at University of Maryland. In Baltimore, Stowe formed the post-fusion unit TRIO RICOCHET. In less than a year since its formation, TRIO RICOCHET appeared at the top venues in the East Coast including Blue Note N.Y., The Knitting Factory, The 55 Bar and An die Musik.

Besides TRIO RICOCHET, Stowe leads and co-leads various projects exploring and blending ‘total-improvisation’ (a la Keith Jarrett) and ‘free-improvisation’. These include solo, duos with Lee Pembleton, Vytis Nivinskas, Alan Munshower , and Honyo Ohte, and various projects with the top improvisers, Dave Ballou, Blaise Siwula, Dom Minasi, Bern Nix, Ross Bonadonna, Ray Sage, John McLellan and Daniel Barbiero as well as the tabla master Badal Roy. Stowe is the pianist for “Renaissance Trio” lead by the renowned Italian percussionist/composer, Andrea Centazzo, and the clarinet legend, Perry Robinson.

Stowe has recently formed a "total-improvisation unit" with the Italian multi-reed man Achille Succi and the drum legend Barry Altschul. This unit is being managed by Coco Bucci and is availbe for world-wide booking.

Stowe has released 5 albums as leader/co-leader: BROOKLYN MOMENTS and NEW YORK MOMENTS on Konnex (Germany), THE SOUL IN THE MIST on Ictus (USA/Italy), HOMMAGE AN KLAUS KINSKI, AN DIE MUSIK, and CONFUSION BLEUE on Soul Note. Stowe has produced all of his own releases plus a recent session featuring Borah Bergman, Ray Sage, Perry Robinson and Steve Swell.

Stowe has been featured on CODA (Canada), Cuadernos de Jazz (Spain), Toma Jazz (Spain), Jazz.Pt (Portugal), Jazz Colo(u)rs (Italy), Jazz & Tzaz (Greece), and Jazz Tokyo (Japan).

Stowe has won two performance grants from Hirshhorn Museum & The Sculpture Garden of Smithonian Institute.

Stowe regularly publishes columns and interviews (including ones with Keith Jarrett, Michel Legrand, Gary Peacock, Bill Frisell, Marilyn Crispell, Martial Solal et al.) at JAZZ TOKYO, the influential web/mobile-zine in Japan.

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3
Album Review

Confusion Bleue: East Side Banquet

Read "East Side Banquet" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Luminously recorded at East Side Studio in New York City, the superfine Confusion Bleue band reemerges with a sterling exposition, centered upon its democratic, but largely cohesive free-form manifesto. The musicians present a resonating group-centric sound, aided by Lee Pembleton's exquisite audio-engineering via a consortium of gusty improvisations and swirling breakouts. With rapidly-moving pulses, keyboardist Nobu Stowe often steers or provokes the variable theme-building components, transferring to a rather inspiring group dynamic. “Movement III" is one of seven ...

1,412
Interview

Nobu Stowe: Beyond Free

Read "Nobu Stowe: Beyond Free" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


The music of NS (Nobu) Stowe is synonymous with the musical storytelling characterized with spontaneity and melodic romanticism--a true rarity in the field of fully improvised music. Stowe has not only mastered the art of total improvisation--a method of fully improvised music that embraces song-like melody, tonal harmony and rhythmic propulsion as well as more commonly improvised free elements--but also unique sets of fully improvised music, incorporating his own vast musical influences, from Baroque and progressive rock to soundtracks, ethnic ...

271
Album Review

Nobu Stowe: Confusion Bleue

Read "Confusion Bleue" reviewed by Budd Kopman


Pianist Nobu Stowe continues developing and honing his quest of “total improvisation" with the marvelous Confusion Bleue. The music hovers within the world of free jazz but almost always contains elements that imply structure, allowing the compositions to feel more or less anchored as time flows by. Stowe's explorations are supported by many of the same musicians from his previous efforts, Hommage an Klaus Kinski (Soul Note, 2007) and the Brooklyn and New York Moments (Konnex, 2006). ...

153
Album Review

Nobu Stowe: An die Musik

Read "An die Musik" reviewed by Budd Kopman


Knowledge is hierarchical and contextual, with the need of integrating the new into the old without contradiction. Furthermore, conclusions reached must also be contextual, meaning that they are conditioned by the state of the knowledge from which they are drawn. What does this have to do with pianist Nobu Stowe and An Die Musik? The act of judging an artist's output as good or bad, successful or unsuccessful, which is different than like or dislike, must center ...

182
Album Review

Nobu Stowe: An die Musik

Read "An die Musik" reviewed by Lyn Horton


No decisions about a recording should ever be made based on the first few sounds that are heard. Even though An die Musik from Japanese pianist Nobu Stowe begins with a restfully melodic and dramatic three-minute piano and drum duet, it moves quickly and assuredly into a vibrant and emotive rhythmic set of improvisations. These possess percussive diversity and a distinctive pianistic bravura. This unique group of musicians alternates among combinations of instruments, moving between duos and trios of piano, ...

196
Album Review

Nobu Stowe / Lee Pembleton: Hommage an Klaus Kinski

Read "Hommage an Klaus Kinski" reviewed by Budd Kopman


The evocative and haunting Hommage an Klaus Kinski has the subtitle Total-Improvisations on Sonic Canvas, which states the roles of the recording's two main protagonists: pianist Nobu Stowe and sound designer Lee Pembleton. Stowe continues here with the kind of music represented on the Brooklyn Moments and New York Moments (both Konnex, 2006), where he desires his improvisations to be “spontaneous songs" with a tonality and a melody in the manner of his main influence, Keith Jarrett. ...

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68

Interview

Pianist Nobu Stowe Interviewed at All About Jazz...And More!

Pianist Nobu Stowe Interviewed at All About Jazz...And More!

Source: John Kelman

The music of NS (Nobu) Stowe is synonymous with the musical storytelling characterized with spontaneity and melodic romanticism—a true rarity in the field of fully improvised music. Stowe has not only mastered the art of total improvisation—a method of fully improvised music that embraces song-like melody, tonal harmony and rhythmic propulsion as well as more commonly improvised free elements—but also unique sets of fully improvised music, incorporating his own vast musical influences, from Baroque and progressive rock to soundtracks, ethnic ...

198

Recording

Nobu Stowe Lee Pembleton Project - Hommage an Klaus Kinski (Black Saint, 2007) ****a1/2

Nobu Stowe Lee Pembleton Project - Hommage an Klaus Kinski (Black Saint, 2007) ****a1/2

Source: All About Jazz

Those who know Nobu Stowe and Blaise Siwula's fully improvisational records, will be more than thrilled by this one. Stowe joins forces with Lee Pembleton, “sound designer". Other musicians include Blaise Siwula on sax and clarinet, Perry Robinson on clarinet and micro-ocarina, John McLellan on drums and Ross Bonadonna on bass clarinet, alto saxophone and guitar. An unusual line-up for an unusual album. Although the album is dedicated to German actor Klaus Kinski, it has as much to do with ...

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Performance / Tour

Konnex CD Release Celebration @ Brecht Forum Tonight, Feb 24th - Blaise Siwula, Dom Minasi, Nobu Stowe & Ray Sage [total-Improvisation Unit]

Konnex CD Release Celebration @ Brecht Forum Tonight, Feb 24th - Blaise Siwula, Dom Minasi, Nobu Stowe & Ray Sage [total-Improvisation Unit]

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

BLAISE SIWULA, DOM MINASI, NOBU STOWE & RAY SAGE [TOTAL- IMPROVISATION UNIT] CELLEBRATES

THE RELEASES OF 2 ALBUMS FROM KONNEX RECORDS (Germany):

Blaise Siwula, Dom Minasi, Nobu Stowe & Ray Sage - New York Moments (Total-Improvisations, 2/18/06)

Blaise Siwula, Nobu Stowe & Ray Sage - Brooklyn Moments (Total-Improvisations, 9/4/05)

FEBRUARY 24TH @ BRECHT FORUM

Location: 451 West Street, New York, NY (on the West Side Highway, between Bank & Bethune Streets)

Date: February 24th (Sat) Time: 9 PM ...

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Performance / Tour

Konnex CD Release Celebration @ Brecht Forum (Feb 24th) - Blaise Siwula, Dom Minasi, Nobu Stowe & Ray Sage [total-Improvisation Unit]

Konnex CD Release Celebration @ Brecht Forum (Feb 24th) - Blaise Siwula, Dom Minasi, Nobu Stowe & Ray Sage [total-Improvisation Unit]

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

BLAISE SIWULA, DOM MINASI, NOBU STOWE & RAY SAGE [TOTAL-IMPROVISATION UNIT] CELLEBRATES THE RELEASES OF 2 ALBUMS FROM KONNEX RECORDS (Germany): Blaise Siwula, Dom Minasi, Nobu Stowe & Ray Sage - New York Moments (Total-Improvisations, 2/18/06) Blaise Siwula, Nobu Stowe & Ray Sage - Brooklyn Moments (Total- Improvisations, 9/4/05) FEBRUARY 24TH @ BRECHT FORUM Location: 451 West Street, New York, NY (on the West Side Highway, between Bank & Bethune Streets) Date: February 24th (Sat) Time: 9 PM ...

"This pianist fuses post-Evans lyricism and avant aggression with headlong forays reminiscent of Jarrett melodic spontaneity." Jim DeJong - JAZZ INSTITUTE OF CHIICAGO

"“An die Musik finds pianist Nobu Stowe interacting joyously with highly supportive bandmates Badal Roy and Alan Munshower in a program filled with melodic and rhythmic invention of the highest order." James Hale - DOWN BEAT/CODA/THE BILLBOARD ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAZZ & BLUES

"While Stowe's a formidable composer, the artist's free=fpr, creative juices are wonderrously focused and engaginly infectious." Glenn Astarita - JAZZREVIEW.COM/EJAZZNEWS.COM

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