The Owens and Wright Experience

Artist Information

Biography

Chicago saxophonist Dudley Owens and New York bassist Aaron Immanuel Wright have joined forces, forming a powerful band that is scheduled to tour the United States and Canada in 2012 as The Owens and Wright Experience. On their new record, People Calling (Origin 82611), Owens and Wright each introduce a handful of explosive, reflective, political, and hard-swinging compositions.

Instrumentation

Dudley Owens - Saxophones, Compositions
Aaron Immanuel Wright - Double Bass, Compositions
Willerm Delisfort - Piano
Clif Wallace - Drums

Discography

People Calling --Dudley Owens and Aaron Wright Band 2012
Eleven Daughters--Aaron Immanuel Wright, 2010
Just The Beginning--Dudley Owens, 2008
Colors of Addiction--David Bowling, 2006

Links

• Facebook
• Dudley Owens
• Music by AIW

Audio

• Elijah
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• Jovan
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• Tremble
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Video

Dudley Owens EPK

Photo Gallery

Press

• Review by Dan McClenaghan [+ Show ]
  

  Owen Dudley / Aaron Wright Band's People Calling, in the best possible sense, doesn't settle into an...Owen Dudley / Aaron Wright Band's People Calling, in the best possible sense, doesn't settle into any category. The title tune, introduced early and reprised at the end of the disc, walks a line between the spirituality-steeped sound of saxophonist John Coltrane's classic sixties quartet and the soulful and catchy style of vocalist/songwriter/producer Curtis Mayfield. The result is stirred with social consciousness, with drummer Clif Wallace's low-in-the-mix vocals repeating "Oh, the people calling" much in the manner of the chant on Coltrane's classic A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1965).
  
  The set's brief opener, "R.O.," brings the Coltrane quartet to mind with a wandering, searching drift centered on Aaron Wright's bowed bass and Willerm Delisfort's shimmering piano. "R.O." coalesces into a brief groove that leads into the title tune. Dudley Owens, who plays mainly tenor sax on the set, switches to soprano on his original, "Elijah," for a relaxed, pastoral mood. The Wright-penned "Jovan" rolls into straight ahead quartet jazz, with Owens sounding alternately forceful and burly, and Ben Webster smooth.
  
  The disc features all original compositions, seven by Wright and four by Owens, with cohesion provided by a search for deeper meanings that translates into a timeless sound. Wright's "Y.A.G.M.G.D." is a sax/bass/drums offering that recalls Sonny Rollins' freer work in the format. Owens blows fiery notes over the Wright/Wallace groove which gearshifts into a racing tempo.
  
  Trumpeter Justin Stanton joins the core quartet on four tunes. Owens' "Book of Revelations" is five-and-a-half minutes of modal urgency juxtaposed with searing two-horn interplay. This leads into the soulful, Wright-penned "Magnolia," with contrasting horn styles—a gruff tenor sax versus a mellifluous trumpet—on a couple of heartfelt solos from Owens and Stanton.
  
  People Calling is one of those rare outings where everything comes together. Excellent songwriting, stellar playing and superb sound quality are captured on a recording wrapped in a beautifully designed CD package with a cover photo that says, accurately, classic sounds.
  
  Track Listing: R.O.; People Calling; Elijah; Jovan; Calling for Casey; Y.A.G.M.G.D.; Book of Revelations; Magnolia; Tremble; Prayer; People Calling (reprise).
  
  Personnel: Dudley Owens: tenor and soprano saxophones; Justin Stanton: trumpet (7-10); Willerm Delisfort: piano; Aaron Immanuel Wright: bass; Clif Wallace: drums.

• Review by Jayson Greene [+ Show ]
  

  Oh how I do love when a group manages to fuse a sense of danger into a set of pretty tunes. Recallin...Oh how I do love when a group manages to fuse a sense of danger into a set of pretty tunes. Recalling the talent of Clifford Jordan to bring together the roots of jazz and modern compositions, this quintet of tenor/soprano sax, trumpet, piano, double bass, and drums captures those same qualities for a very cool recording. It swings and it prowls, joyful but ready to fight. Modern straight-ahead, but imbued with the spiritual jazz of the sixties. Opening tracks of “R.O.” and “People Calling” an outstanding one-two punch. A very strong effort and Highly Recommended.

• Review by Peter Margasak [+ Show ]
  

  On the terrific new People Calling (Origin), this Chicago-New York four-piece taps into the "spiritu...On the terrific new People Calling (Origin), this Chicago-New York four-piece taps into the "spiritual jazz" feel of John Coltrane's classic quartet, even chanting the words of the title track, a la "A Love Supreme." The new recording is a big leap forward for Chicago saxophonist Dudley Owens, whose 2009 debut album, Just the Beginning, tried to show off his entire range and ended up diluting his strengths. He's now impressively focused: he brings an airy, tender soulfulness to his soprano work on "Elijah," and he's even better on tenor, with a muscular tone that sounds just as good on high-velocity bar-walking honks ("Y.A.G.M.G.D.") as it does on searing, post-Wayne Shorter modal blowing ("Book of Revelations"). New York bassist Aaron Immanuel Wright coleads the group, which also includes Chicago drummer Clif Wallace and New York pianist Willerm Delisfort. Trumpeter Justin Stanton provides a nice foil to Owens on four album tracks, but for these shows only the core quartet will play. —Peter Margasak

Setlist

Our set consists of originals and standards.

Basic Requirements

Calendar