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Quamon Fowler

Quamon Fowler was born, reared and educated in the great city of Fort Worth, Texas. His musical journey started with an elementary school music program, orchestra and band in junior high school, then high school band. He began listening to various types of music and duplicating that music by practicing relentlessly from the age of twelve. He begin composing music at fifteen. His endless practicing and quest to achieve paid off. He earned first chair tenor saxophone in the All-State Jazz Ensemble in 1998.

He won twice in the NAACP ACT-SO competition. He won first, in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1996, and again in Atlanta, Georgia in 1998, competing in the jazz category.

After graduating from O.D. Wyatt High School, Quamon attended Weatherford College where he was directed by jazz guitarist, Tom Burchill. A year later, Quamon felt he needed to extend his music studies, so he decided to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There he studied with world- renowned jazz clarinetist and educator, Alvin Batiste. Mr. Batiste was a great mentor and encouragement to Quamon. He performed with Mr. Batiste around Baton Rouge and New Orleans. In May of 2000, Mr. Batiste encouraged Quamon to produce a CD, so Quamon released his first independent CD project in July of 2000, Introducing Quamon Fowler. The project combined straight-ahead jazz and soul to create a unique sound while reflecting his musical expertise as a developing artist.

In the spring of 2001 Quamon was selected by Very Special Arts as a Panasonic Young Soloist. This award allowed him to perform for the first time at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He has always yearned for others to be more exposed to his music so he applied to be a part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program as well and was selected twice as a participant in spring of 2002 & 2003. While traveling and performing, Quamon was inspired as a writer to compose an energetic and aggressive composition, "The Reinforcement." This piece was selected as one of the top three compositions by Billy Harper, Maria Schneider, and Cecil Bridgewater in the first annual ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer’s Awards Competition. As a recipient of the ASCAP Award, he was able to perform at the ASCAP headquarters in New York as a part of the annual Jazz Wall of Fame induction ceremony. The following year he won again with his composition, "Special Delivery" and "Within A Love So True" in 2008.

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970
Interview

Quamon Fowler: His Life and Faith

Read "Quamon Fowler:  His Life and Faith" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Twice-winner of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award, tenor saxophonist Quamon Fowler performed earlier this summer at the Jazz Journalists Association's Awards program at B.B. King's in New York. Following the award Fowler--who recently celebrated his 25th birthday and the release of his third CD, The Vision--was praised by Ken Cicerale of ASCAP as, “...a player and as a composer who is one of the most exciting players coming up. We're going to hear a lot more from him in ...

151
Album Review

Quamon Fowler: Introducing Quamon Fowler

Read "Introducing Quamon Fowler" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Fort Worth Native Quamon Fowler detours through South Louisiana and provides a funky soulful set of originals.

Quamon Fowler, student of the renowned jazz teacher Dr. Alvin Batiste at Southern University of Baton Rouge, steps out into the electrons with a contemporary jazz/neo-Hard Bop offering in Introducing Quamon Fowler. This maiden voyage is populated with smartly constructed, hook-filled compositions that showcase Fowler's tightly-focused, ultra-dense tone contrasted against the ethereal back drop of Arlington Jones' Fender Rhodes and/or Joey Carter's vibraphone. ...

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Primary Instrument

Saxophone, tenor

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