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John Stowell

John Stowell began his successful career in the early 1970's with private study with guitarist Linc Chamberland and pianist John Mehegan. Both men were valuable mentors to John, allowing him to play with them as he progressed in his development. Several years later he met bassist David Friesen in New York City, and they formed a duo that recorded and toured prolifically for seven years, with performances in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.

In 1983, John and David joined flutist Paul Horn and Paul's son Robin Horn (on drums) for a historic tour of the Soviet Union. This was the first time in forty years that an American jazz group had been invited to play public performances in Russia. In 1993, 1995, 1998 and 2012 John returned to Russia, playing in numerous cities. His two sold-out performances in Kursk may have been the first appearances there by an American jazz musician.

John continues to tour, record and teach internationally. He has been Artist-In-Residence at schools in Germany, Indonesia, Argentina, and in the United States and Canada. He served as assistant director and performer in Oregon Public Broadcasting's PDX Jazz Summit in 1991, and since 1995 has been a contributing columnist for a number of magazines, including "Downbeat", "Guitar Player", "Canadian Musician", "Soundcheck" (Germany), and "Guitar Club" (Italy).

With bassist David Friesen, featured of the soundtracks of two Academy Award Nominated short films (Will Vinton Studios, Portland, OR, and Bosustow Studios, Los Angeles, CA)

"Through the Listening Glass" with David Friesen chosen of the "Ten Best Jazz Albums of the Decade" by the Los Angeles Examiner

Chosen "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" by Downbeat's International Critic's Poll, 1978 and 1979

Featured in Japan's "Swing Journal", "The Jazz Guitar" (Ashely Mark Publishing, England), and the Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz (Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler).

Appearances on BET Jazz Discovery and Guitar Series television shows.

Recording/Performance Credits: Milt Jackson, Lionel Hampton, Art Farmer, Conte Condoli, Herb Ellis, Bill Watrous, Mundell Lowe, George Cables, Billy Higgins, Billy Hart, Richie Cole, Paul Horn, Tom Harrrell, Don Thompson, Dave Liebman, and many others.


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37
Album Review

Jason Keiser: Shaw's Groove

Read "Shaw's Groove" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The “Shaw" in guitarist Jason Keiser's album Shaw's Groove is the late great Woody Shaw, one of the more innovative and influential jazz trumpeters of the twentieth century. Even though he lived only forty-four years (he died in May 1989), Shaw was an important role model whose sweeping influence remains strong to this day, both as a player and composer. The first four songs on Shaw's Groove were written by Shaw himself, among the many he composed ...

5
Album Review

Mickylee, John Stowell, Ulf Bandgren: Portuguese Blue

Read "Portuguese Blue" reviewed by Nenad Georgievski


Portuguese Blue is a record that joins the talents of three jazz guitarists, Mickylee, John Stowell, and Ulf Bandgren. It is one of those “guitar summit" recordings which combines the talents of exceptional guitarists and, as such, is an inviting document. Groups consisting of three guitarists are not unheard of in jazz music but they are not very common. Duo conversations open many possibilities but trios can open even wider harmonic possibilities. Sometimes these types of records feature good playing ...

9
Album Review

Scenes: Variable Clouds: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival

Read "Variable Clouds: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival" reviewed by Paul Rauch


Scenes'' first album dates back to 2001, but the origins of the band dates back to the early 1990s, when saxophonist Rick Mandyck, bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop initiated a trio gig. On occasion guitarist John Stowell would drop in if he was off the road and in Seattle. The band that began as a trio reverted back to that format after that inaugural recording, this time Stowell in tow as Mandyck slipped into a decade-long hiatus from ...

6
Album Review

Scenes: Variable Clouds: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival

Read "Variable Clouds: Live at the Earshot Jazz Festival" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The group Scenes has released seven excellent albums over two decades of recording together, beginning with their eponymous debut (Origin Records, 2001). All of those are studio efforts. The group's 2022 outing, Variable Clouds is a first for Scenes--their first album recorded live in front of an audience, in 2021 at the Earshot Jazz Festival. This is a return to the group's original line-up. Saxophonist Rick Mandyck sat out for a time due to health problems, leaving Scenes ...

13
Album Review

John Stowell / Dave Glenn & The Hawcaptak Quartet: Violin Memory

Read "Violin Memory" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Guitarist John Stowell does not hesitate when it comes to taking on unconventional projects. 2021 saw him teaming with vocalist Dan Dean on Rain Painting (Origin Records)--an album of featuring an overdubbed layering of voices (Dean's) making for lush and enriching choir-like harmonics, accompanied by Stowell's various guitars. The Seattle-based guitarist's follow-up finds him teaming with trombonist Dave Glenn, a longtime collaborator, and bringing in a classical string quartet to enhance the atmosphere. The results are a unique ...

4
Album Review

John Stowell & Dan Dean: Rain Painting

Read "Rain Painting" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Now here's a uniquely compelling set from two of the Pacific Northwest's great individualists on one of jazz's most stalwart imprints. Guitarist John Stowell and multi-hyphenate Dan Dean have each made their respective marks on many Origin dates in the past. The former's instruments have figured into more than 25 recordings there, from solo sets to duo meetings with Dave Liebman and sideman appearances to a string of albums with collective combo Scenes; and the latter has spanned worlds and ...

4
Album Review

John Stowell / Dan Dean: Rain Painting

Read "Rain Painting" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Guitarist John Stowell has spent two decades recording for Seattle's Origin records, collaborating with artists such as saxophonists Dave Liebman and Michael Zilber, drummer John Bishop, bassist Jeff Johnson and guitarist Ulf Bandgren. His work with the band Scenes—with Bishop and Johnson, and (twice) saxophonist Rick Mandyck—is particularly noteworthy. Bassist Dan Dean—with a sparser discography than Stowell's—has made more of a name for himself as a producer and audio and recording engineer for the label; but his status as a ...

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Recording

Jazz Vocalist Kendra Shank And Guitarist John Stowell Release Extraordinary Duo Album New York Conversations April 8 On TCB – The Montreux Jazz Label

Jazz Vocalist Kendra Shank And Guitarist John Stowell Release Extraordinary Duo Album New York Conversations April 8 On TCB – The Montreux Jazz Label

Source: Michael Bloom Media Relations

There are a million jazz stories in the naked city, and New York Conversations captures some of the most revelatory ones. An extraordinary encounter between the supremely inventive vocalist Kendra Shank and the brilliant guitarist John Stowell, a player with a beautiful touch and rarified harmonic vocabulary who specializes in high-wire duo projects, the album came together quickly, with a minimum of planning. While Shank and Stowell’s musical friendship dates back more than two decades, New York Conversations is their ...

136

Recording

Dee Bell releases "Sagacious Grace" with Houston Person, Al Plank, John Stowell, Michael Spiro, Colin Bailey and John Wiitala

Dee Bell releases "Sagacious Grace" with Houston Person, Al Plank, John Stowell, Michael Spiro, Colin Bailey and John Wiitala

Source: Dee Bell

Former Concord Jazz Recording Artist Dee Bell Moves to the Laser Label with the new album Sagacious Grace (Cat #0708). Available on CD Baby, Amazon, and ITunes as of 15 August 2011 Featuring Al Plank: piano; Houston Person: saxophone; John Stowell: guitar; Michael Spiro: percussion; Colin Bailey: drums; John Wiitala: bass. Praised by critics both abroad and in the United States for her “gorgeous phrasing" and “clear and easy delivery (Stereo Review)" of the lyrics of a song, West Coast ...

302

Contest

Enter the Origin 2-CD Giveaway at All About Jazz!

Enter the Origin 2-CD Giveaway at All About Jazz!

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Origin 2-CD giveaway contest starting today. Each winner will receive John Stowell/Michael Zilber—Shot Through With Beauty and AsGuests—Universal Mind. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on August 15th. Click here to enter the contest (Following John Stowell at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.) Good luck! Your Friends at Origin Records Click here to learn more about and listen to samples from Shot Through With Beauty. ...

213

Event

Jazz Guitarist John Stowell Clinic and John Stowell and Bassist Bijoux Barbossa in Concert in Denver

Jazz Guitarist John Stowell Clinic and  John Stowell and Bassist Bijoux Barbossa in Concert in Denver

Source: Michael Ricci

Jazz guitarist extraordinaire, John Stowell will present a clinic and appear in concert with bassist Bijoux Barbossa on this Saturday, 2/20/2010, at Broadway Music School at 1940, South Broadway in Denver, CO 80210. The Clinic is at 12:00 Noon The Concert is at 7:30 PM Advance tickets are: $20.00 for either the Clinic or Concert $35.00 for Both Saturday tickets are: $25.00 for either the Clinic or Concert $45.00 for ...

85

Interview

Catching up with John Stowell

Catching up with John Stowell

Source: Rifftides by Doug Ramsey

John Stowell, Solitary Tales (Origin). The CD's title suits the guitarist, a peripatetic performer who roams the world. I recently heard a musician say, “You never know where he'll show up." Although Stowell often plays with others, some of his most stunning work, as here, is unaccompanied. He alternates acoustic and electric guitars, but when he is plugged in he keeps his amplifier volume low and his attack subtle. The listener is more likely to be involved with the gentle ...

197

Video / DVD

Guitarists Go Beyond Conventional Harmony & Chords with Modern Chord Melody

Guitarists Go Beyond Conventional Harmony & Chords with Modern Chord Melody

Source: All About Jazz

Jazz chord melody may very well be the most challenging of all guitar styles to truly master. Players must develop right-hand thumb and finger independence, a robust vocabulary of jazz voicings, a strong sense of melody and and arranger's feel for composition. And these are just the fundamentals. Once you have the “easy" stuff down, it's all about groove, arrangement, performance and improvisation. Modern Chord Melody takes the student beyond conventional harmony and chords by introducing a broader, more contemporary ...

Dan Andersen
guitar, electric

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Shaw's Groove

OA2 Records
2023

buy

Violin Memory

Origin Records
2022

buy

The Axe Axis

Self Produced
2022

buy

Variable Clouds: Live...

Origin Records
2022

buy

Portuguese Blue

Quinton Records
2022

buy

Organ Grinder

From: Shaw's Groove
By John Stowell

Spanish Samba (feat. John Stowell)

From: Spanish Samba Single Release
By John Stowell

Tilbury Hill

From: Variable Clouds: Live at the...
By John Stowell

Wheeler's Waltz

From: The Axe Axis
By John Stowell

Lonely Blue Angel

From: Violin Memory
By John Stowell

You Know It When You Got It

From: Throop
By John Stowell

Three French Nuns

From: Silent Photographer
By John Stowell

Shot Through With Beauty

From: Shot Through With Beauty
By John Stowell

Videos

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