Tag: Ralph Bowen

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Critical Jazz reviews Jared Gold “All Wrapped Up”…

www.criticaljazz.com

Change is never bad, just different. The forth Posi-Tone release for Gold finds two stellar horn players to replace the use of guitar on the previous three outings and with surprising results. Saxophonist Ralph Bown and trumpeter Jim Rotundi add freshness and depth to the eight composition where Gold compositions are featured on five selections and Jim Rotondi, Ralph Bowen, and Quincy Davis compositions round out this tight release and new musical chapter in Gold’s Posi-Tone discography.
The Gold tune “Mama Said” kicks off the fun with both horn players working through the swinging head and a deceptively subtle soul groove starts to build around the traded solos along with the finesse of drummer Davis. While each member contributes at least one composition, Ralph Bowen’s “Midnight Snack” is a syncopated adventure in odd meter punctuated with the rhythmic pop and vitality of what sounds like a working band having played together for a great many years. Bowen’s passion is certainly felt through the lyrical intensity of his playing and in turns spreads like wildfire throughout this formidable 4tet. “Dark Blue” is the sexy Rontondi composition which follows and intensity may be dialed back the passion is no less evident and is part of an intoxicating ebb and flow that envelopes All Wrapped Up. The Gold tune “Mama Said” has an intriguing all most retro vibe. A soulful groove you can use. “Just A Suggestion” closes this soulful romp with Bowen’s solo alone worth the price of the release. An odd metered tune but Gold is masterful is not building an entire release around the odd meter or harmonization of the melodies so as to become a member of the flavor of the month club. The addition of the two horn players is a stroke of genius as they in turn open Gold’s sound by highlighting some of the more soulful qualities and find Gold channeling his inner Larry Young or a young Jimmy Smith.
The creative juices flow deep on All Wrapped Up with Gold proving yet again he may be a relatively new shooter in the world of jazz organ but he is the real deal. All Wrapped Up is a virtually flawless release where Gold welcomes you to the land of rhythm and groove!
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An international review for Ralph Bowen “Total Eclipse”…

saxsoundsmagazine.com

Come from the distant mountains Canada, like most level players, he also got into this at an early age. At just 13 years already had his quartet in Toronto. As a teenager, he received a scholarship to study at the Canada Council For The Arts. He studied with drummer LaBarbera and Kieth Blackley. In addition, he performed and recorded with Canadian fusion group, “Manteca.” And in 1983 and 1984, was awarded two more scholarships to continue their studies at the Jazz Department at the University of Indiana, where he honed his skills in the Artist Diploma program under the tutelage of David Baker. In 1985, he and Cecil Taylor were elected “Jazz Main Men of the Year” by Canada’s Toronto Globe. Bowen also won an audition at the Blue Note, being co-leader in what is known in the contemporary jazz band Out of the Blue (OTB). He moved to New York and recorded four albums for Blue Note. After recording a series of albums for the Dutch label Criss Cross Jazz. And more recently, working for the Posi-Tone label.
In 1986, Bowen began to travel across five continents, acclaimed pianist Michel Camilo, who eventually recorded a few jobs for soundtracks and movies. In addition, between 1986 and 1991, Bowen completed three world tours with pianists Horace Silver and Jim Beard.
The swing set is the rhythmic feel of music pora interaction and chemistry between the musicians. Swing or groove, is manifested as a visceral response in which you feel like your hips and your feet move independently, outside of your own will.
Ralph Bowen, with his new album “Total Eclipse” calls into question any theory of voluntary movement of the feet and hips.
There are a lot of tenoristas with great ability to play notes and more notes. Bowen is a master of the technique to blow with the precision of a watchmaker, while drawing intense lyrical swing from the inside. But on this trip to the proximity to the public, accompanying four musicazos tightly coupled to the concept of Ralph. Jared Gold the organ, is the perfect visionary. Mike Moreno’s guitar adds texture and arrogance to the group, to become much more than a mere sideman. Rudy Royston is perhaps one of the batteries today that more understated work. If Royston is one of danger, which is responsible for the rhythm section. No bass or bass, but he stands firm with its battery casing.
While there is no doubt that Ralph Bowen may sound like a beast, perhaps the most fascinating aspect of “Total Eclipse” is its variety and texture. Looking on any page of the agenda of musicians with ECM sound, there is an ebb and flow, allowing the jazz version offer something new at every turn that gives the disc. Any release for jazzmans faint of heart, the perfect example of controlled sonic fury. A swing that may be hard, but honest and with a great sense of poetry. There is no swing jazz!

Artists: Ralph Bowen, sax | Jared Gold, organ | Mike Moreno, guitar | Rudy Royston on drums.

Topics: 1 “Total Eclipse”, 2 “Behind The Curtain”, 3 “Into the City”, 4 “The Dowsing Rod”, 5 “On Green”, 6 “Arrows Of The Light”, 7 “Exosphere”, 8 ” Hip Check “, 9” In My Dreams “.

Edit: Posi-Tone (2012)

By Arion Molina | May 12, 2012


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SomethingElse reviews Ralph Bowen “Total Eclipse”…

somethingelsereviews.com
The cover for Ralph Bowen’s newest release Total Eclipse is a picture of a “ring of fire” solar exclipse, much like the one that provided a spectacular show for residents of the U.S. Southwest on Monday. Putting on a saxophone show is what Ralph is about, though, and for the forth time in three years, he’s putting for a new album deploying a different type of ensemble. This time, Bowen is leading a organ/guitar quartet making good use of the services of B-3 boss Jared Gold and guitarist Mike Moreno; Rudy Royston mans the drums. Bowen was a key player on Gold’s breakthrough All Wrapped Up from last year and while Total Eclipse isn’t the angular, studious affair of that record, he’s not channeling Stanley Turrentine, either. Eclipse splits the difference, an album full of soul but not predictable soul riffs and licks (“On Green,” heard on the YouTube below, is a highlight). Occasionally, there’s a surprise or two to prevent any monotony from settling in, like the rock-out combustible jam “Hip Check,” and the soprano sax delight “The Dowsing Rod.”

Ralph Bowen might change up the personnel and the configuration from album to album, but the results remain solid. Total Eclipse continues his winning streak.

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Ralph Bowen “Total Eclipse” get reviewed on Outside Inside Out…

outsideinsideout.wordpress.com

Marc Free’s Posi-tone Records is one of a handful of labels that churns out a significant number of quality albums on a regular basis.  In the past couple of months the label has sent numerous new releases my way, so today I’m hitting you with a multi-part rundown of some of my favorites.

I reviewed tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen’s last album, Power Play, in Downbeat.  In that review I compared Bowen’s sick chops and certain stylistic elements to Brecker, and thought his soprano approach was slightly reminiscent of Branford – comparisons which earned me a reaming out in a letter to the editor, even though it was a positive review.  Bowen’s followup to that album is Total Eclipse, which features Posi-tone mainstay Jared Gold on organ, guitarist Mike Moreno, and drummer Rudy Royston.  While I stand by my review of Power Play, I find Bowen’s playing on Total Eclipse(whether on tenor or soprano) to be extremely focused, sharp, swinging and reminding me of only one player: Ralph Bowen.

Bowen penned all nine of the hour long album’s tracks.  The title track opens the album in an easy, swinging fashion, with Bowen mixing up phrase lengths, rhythms and articulation and accent patterns – slinking, sliding, and winding his way through his solo.  On his brief solo Gold mixes a slightly percussive phrases based on short note values with  longer and more held out phrases, building upon Bowen’s statement nicely.  “The Dowsing Rod” features Bowen on soprano and is one metrically tricky trip, having sections in 10, in 3 and in 4.  Moreno sounds particularly good on this track, letting his slightly reverby sound and relaxed phrasing glide over Gold and Roysten.  The penultimate cut, “Hip Check,” is a rowdy and rocking showcase for Bowen’s aggressive tenor.  Royston holds things down with a slight backbeat and forward driving cymbals and Gold backs up Bowen’s solo by mixing up long sustained chords with quick jabs.  Moreno’s solo, supported by a very active Royston, is for the most part quite understated, providing a nice contrast to Bowen’s fire.

Overall Total Eclipse is an excellent outing that displays tight group playing, swinging charts containing a ton of craft and subtle hipness, and soloists who bring a firey intensity and creativity.  If you dig other releases on Posi-tone, or are a Ralph Bowen fan, then definitely check this CD out.  And if you’re not familiar with either, this album would be a great place to start.

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Ralph Bowen “Total Eclipse” get a nice review…

www.soundsoftimelessjazz.com
With Total Eclipse, saxophonist Ralph Bowen offers his fans a program that covers a broad spectrum of styles and sounds. Bowen wrote nine songs for the recording which features accompanists Jared Gold on organ, Mike Moreno on guitar and Rudy Royston on drums. Bowen masters the complexity of sustaining his listeners’ interest with his top-to-bottom command of the tenor saxophone, important improvisations and great soloing from his bandmates. So that you can fully enjoy his version of jazz, Ralph Bowen mixes things up with several fascinating styles – from straight ahead to bebop to swing.  The title track opens the set and from beginning to end, listeners are in for a real treat. The band supports Bowen’s dramatic composition and burnished sound with technical precision that only comes from years of experience and the study of their craft.  Jared Gold’s organ solo is well-placed and as funky as he wants to be! This song is a winner. On “Into The City” you’ll hear him at his best with solid hard, blowing that shows the depths of his artistry. On “The Dowsing Rod,” his soprano saxophone depicts the title’s subject before Mike Moreno adds his guitar visions via a beautiful solo. Overall, the entire recording meets the standards set by Ralph Bowen’s previous releases and he has definitely reached new heights with Total Eclipse. Buy the CD today.
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Another review for Ralph Bowen “Due Reverence”…

www.criticaljazz.com

As a jazz critic or advocate as I prefer to refer to myself as perhaps the most frustrating part of the job is panning for sonic gold. Recently at the JEN Convention in Louisville I discussed the question of players looking to be stars first and musicians second. Players that have an immense wealth of academic knowledge but somehow are missing the soul or passion to push not just their sound but jazz as a whole to the next level. From the liner notes of this release:
Always And In Everything
Let There Be Reverence…
Confucius
For me this speaks to the spirituality of the jazz idiom and the ability to touch someone be it on a personal level or through a pre-packaged product. I firmly believe no other genre of music possesses the same effect on a human being as does jazz.
Ralph Bowen is not a guy that you need to worry about. On Bowen’s second release for Posi-Tone he surrounds himself with an all star line up of Sean Jones on trumpet, Adam Rogers on guitar, John Patitucii on bass and finally Antonio Sanchez on drums and they do indeed raise a ruckus! Bowen continues the theme from his first Posi-Tone releaseDedicated. “Less Is More” while maintaining a strong lyrical base finds Bowen taking on a more intense modal quality as that of a John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins. “This One’s For Bob” ( for Bob Mintzer ) has Bowen taking lyrical development while working without a harmonic net to an entirely new level. Patitucci and Sanchez’s create a dramatic underpinning of texture within this tune and this may be the first tune that Bowen really stretches his talent to the next level. “Philosophy” has Sanchez going literally head to head with the other soloists and is swing and its very highest level.
Paying dues. Which player paved the way for more musicians and giving credit where credit is due will always be argued among the jazz aficionado. What will never be argued successfully is the love and appreciation of the music and the contribution that stellar talent like Ralph Bowen make to the scene.
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Some nice coverage for Ralph Bowen on SaxShed…

saxshed.com

Heads up SaxShed.com readers! Ralph Bowen has done it again. You can check out the newest release “Total Eclipse” from Posi-tone Records on May 29, 2012.

The press release below tells a bit about Ralph’s newest release “Total Eclipse”:

“Saxophonist Ralph Bowen reaches for new vistas andsu rpasses himself with his latest release “Total Eclipse.” Bowen plays with remarkable technical precision and a manifest knowledge of his materials. His sound is hard and extraordinarily well-centered, his articulation sharp, and his command of the tenor saxophone complete. Nevertheless, the depth of his artistry is considerable. Ralph Bowen is as substantial a musician as jazz has ever produced. The musical program covers a wide spectrum of styles and sounds when Bowen’s brilliant original compositions are presented with the able assistance of a solid group of sidemen, including organist Jared Gold, guitarist Mike Moreno, and drummer Rudy Royston. Jazz fans everywhere will swing with intense delight as Bowen soars to new heights with “Total Eclipse.”

Track List
1. Total Eclipse
2. Behind The Curtain
3. Into The City
4. The Dowsing Rod
5. On Green
6. Arrows Of Light
7. Exosphere
8. Hip Check
9. In My Dreams

Do yourself a favor and pre-order this if you can. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Ralph Bowen’s playing. The preview copy I am listening to at the moment is burning. You only need to listen to Hip Check at 1:30 to appreciate what a wonderful technician Ralph is – a true modern virtuoso.

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A couple of new reviews for Orrin Evans and Ralph Bowen….

midwestrecord.com

ORRIN EVANS/Flip the Script: With a new trio, Evans plays piano like it’s a bebop instrument using it to anchor a straight ahead date with a lot of modern jazz overtones. Left leaning but not from the church basement, this is seasoned, high octane piano trio music that goes from racket to joyful noise to pulse pounding. Sitting down jazz for those not afraid to push the pedal to the metal, it’s loaded with the stuff hipsters should really be appreciating instead of images of what they are appreciating. Hot stuff.
8100

RALPH BOWEN/Total Eclipse: The kind of New York sax man that’s a jazzbo’s jazzbo, he’s a real player that doesn’t show up to mess around. His third for the label finds him continuing to consolidate his position at the head of the class. A straight up, straight ahead date that’s in the tradition and in the pocket, there’s some serious playing here that’s going to grab you by the ear and not let go. Well done
8097

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Critical Jazz reviews Ralph Bowen “Total Eclipse”…

www.criticaljazz.com

Swing is rhythmic feel or groove created by the musical interaction or chemistry between the performers. Swing or this “groove” manifests itself in a visceral response essentially music your feel with your hips and feel with your feet.
With a total solar eclipse the Sun’s corona can be seen shining in all directions around the moon. This glimpse of the corona is breathtaking as this is the only time the corona can be seen.
While this somewhat academic explanation may seem odd as applied to Ralph Bowen’s Total Eclipse allow the idea of Bowen as the celestial body and his first call trio that passes through this release as the breathtaking corona that highlights the intense swing of Ralph Bowen.

There are a million tenor players in the naked city with many having the ability to play the notes but not make the music. Bowen is a master technician who blows with the precision of a surgeon while drawing an intense lyrical swing from a visceral place most players can play thirty years and still not find. Shying away from the word “sidemen” we have Jared Gold on organ who is the perfect musical visionary for his role on this or virtually any other recording I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. Mike Moreno adds texture and swagger to an ensemble that are far more than just a handful of some of the better “sidemen” you can find. Moreno may well be the equivalent of sonic glue in bringing the rhythm section together. Rudy Royston is perhaps one of the most underrated drummers working the scene today. If Royston is on a release the rhythm section will be tight and the pocket will be held firmly in hand by Royston.

Opening with the title track “Total Eclipse” the straight ahead power of Bowen will hit you right between the eyes. A hard edged lyrical sense of purpose as the groove laid down by the ensemble and especially the first rate solo turned in by Gold is a thing of beauty. Seemingly working without a harmonic net this 4tet goes for it and takes no prisoners. A release of all originals can be somewhat of a musical roll of the dice but not for Bowen whose tunes can take one make to the days of Blue Note and Impulse which was when real swing was king. Posi-Tone can lay claim to a huge chunk of that crown now. The somewhat soulful ballad oriented “The Dowsing Rod” differs totally in style. While the lyrical drive is never absent the intensity is transferred nicely to a tune that showcases Bowen’s versatility not only in compositions that can go slightly more post bop influenced but in his mastery of improvisational consistency that is seldom heard. Moreno clean single note runs move deftly in and out of a tune that develops its own organic pulse and finds a musical happy place between post bop and modern jazz. “Hip Check” has Royston checking in with an opening solo that is more of an instructional guide or masterclass for those with drumming aspirations. Bowen is on fire with an improvisational firepower most tenor players struggle to pull off with this kind of intensity and direction.

While there is no doubt Ralph Bowen can swing like a beast perhaps the most captivating aspect of Total Eclipse is the variety and texture. Taking a sonic page from the ECM playbook there is an ebb and flow that allows this release to give up a little something new with each subsequent spin of disc. This is not a release for the jazz faint of heart. This is meat and potatoes swing that you can sink your teeth into. At times Total Eclipse is the perfect example of controlled sonic fury. My sincere hope this is not the last we have heard from this particular 4tet. A swing that is hard, honest and with a strong sense of lyrical direction this my friends is what swing is all about!

5 Stars

Tracks: Total Eclipse; Behind The Curtain; Into The City; The Dowsing Rod; On Green; Arrows Of The Light; Exosphere; Hip Check; In My Dreams.

Personnel: Ralph Bowen: saxophone; Jared Gold: organ; Mike Moreno: guitar; Rudy Royston: drums.

Check out these links for more information including the possibility of pre-ordering the new release.

https://www.posi-tone.com/

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Another positive review for Ralph Bowen “PowerPlay”…

exystence.net

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 tenor riff that soon develops into a powerful and melodic solo. Drummer Donald Edwards and bassist Kenny Davis, who was Bowen’s band mate for a few years in the ’80s group Out Of The Blue, also impress from the off, creating a driving rhythm that characterizes…

… much of the recording.

Pianist Orrin Evans matches Bowen solo for solo across Power Play. On the snaky “Drumheller Valley,” Evans delivers the opening riff with confidence, while his beautifully varied solo has a soulful vibe which contrasts well with Bowen’s more bop-ish approach. He’s equally stylish when he joins Davis and Edwards to underpin Bowen’s lead playing. It’s Bowen’s warm and lyrical playing that’s to the fore on Guy Wood’s standard, “My One And Only Love” but the performance is a genuine quartet affair, with the rhythm players’ relaxed, and relaxing, approach central to the mood of the song.

While Bowen’s tenor saxophone might be the most prominent instrument on the album—it’s also the instrument of choice for both of the CD’s cover photos—he delivers some of his finest playing, with soprano, on his lovely ballads “Jessica” and “A Solar Romance.”

Power Play is an apposite title: for saxophonist Ralph Bowen is certainly one of the most powerful players in contemporary jazz. But power alone is seldom, if ever, enough, and Bowen combines power with exceptional control, feeling and tone. The rest of the quartet shares Bowen’s characteristics, ensuring that this collection of tunes is constantly rewarding.