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Ulysses Owens Jr

Independent

Ulysses Owens Jr. is an artist “who takes a backseat to no one” (The New York Times), a label that seemingly describes his remarkable ascent as one of today’s premier drummers, or perhaps, his evolution as a producer, composer, educator, and entrepreneur. In fact, these words reach further back, to the time when Owens found music. At age two, Owens’s mother Gwendolyn, the choir director of their Pentecostal congregation, brought her son to rehearsal and gave him the best seat in the house: directly behind the drummer. Her priority was keeping track of him while she was conducting, but soon enough, she noticed he was actually keeping time. When that hired professional fell through, the boy was ready to assume his seat.  

Ulysses Owens Jr. is steadily establishing himself as a leader in his generation of jazz artists, admired for his sensitive, fiery, and complex playing, vivid display of textural nuance, and gift for propelling a band with charisma and integrity. Both humble in person and imposing behind a kit, Owens is a two-time Grammy® Award winner who  has earned his stripes as a member of bassist Christian McBride’s acclaimed trio and the driving force of McBride’s famed big band. His 2009 debut recording “It's Time for U” featured several original compositions and arrangements. In 2012, he released a second album, “Unanimous” (Criss Cross Jazz), featuring Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Jaleel Shaw, Michael Dease, and Christian Sands. 

In 2010, Ulysses received his first Grammy® for his performance on Kurt Elling's "Dedicated To You," and his second Grammy® for the Christian McBride Big Band album, "The Good Feeling." This year, he garnered a third nomination for Christian McBride’s Trio album, “Out Here.” Owens flexes his versatility across projects, having toured and recorded with artists including McBride, Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Elling, Diane Schuur, Renee Fleming, Russell Malone, and Mulgrew Miller. This year marks the release of two new albums as a leader: his third album, “Onward and Upward;” and “Time is Now,” the debut album of New Century Jazz Quintet, co-led with Takeshi Obayashi for the Japanese label, Spice Of Life.

At heart, Owens’s approaches music at a spiritual level, blending his musical lineage with his own eloquent, swinging drum sound. . Owens has been honoured with a 2014 Global Music Award, 2013 ASCAP Plus Award, designated a 2014 Downbeat Rising Star and appeared as a TED X Jacksonville performer. In 2015, he continues touring with the McBride Trio, and remains in demand for new projects, including his first Artist in-Residency at the Park Avenue Armory in their “Under Construction Series.”


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Contact Us

PO Box 180
Launceston
Cornwall
PL15 0BX

  (+44)844 811 1115

 info@protectionracket.com


Protection Racket Brochure

Download our latest brochure


Follow Us


UK Distribution

Yamaha Music Europe GmbH (UK)


Privacy Policy