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Quamon Fowler turned out some thoughtful and earnest modern jazz at the jazz fest Friday morning. His sextet opened up the jazz tent with a positive vibe. Fowler's tenor saxophone spat bright tones on top of his band's well-executed swing.
Fowler was very friendly to the audience, and he introduced every song. This was needed, as one piece concerning Jesus carried more weight after being introduced as such. Fowler played all original pieces. Fowler was backed by a saxophonist, pianist, bassist, drummer and conga player.
Fowler is a young man, and he approached the microphone with a humble innocence, but he still attacked the saxophone with fervor. His scathing solos drew much cheering, and he proved why he should be a bandleader.
Fowler sometimes comes to New Orleans as a Baton Rouge package deal with fellow up-and-comer trumpeter Maurice Brown. Fowler studied under Alvin Batiste, and he has played with Roy Hargrove, Branford Marsalis, and others. - www.liveneworleans.com
Fort Worth Native Quamon Fowler detours through South Louisiana and provides a funky soulful set of original. 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. Fowler is well-schooled in Hard Bop as well as R&B. His playing betrays only a small nod to John Coltrane, choosing instead a more Michael Brecker meets David Sanborn direction. Introducing… is what Hard Bop would sound like had it waited 40 years to be born. “Eternal Moments” and “Inner Me” are the best of the lot, but the lot are all mighty fine. Fowler's blues playing is well represented on “D-Town Blues”, which expand the definition of that old 12-bar format in a most enjoyable and unexpected way. A fine young talent deserving of greater recognition.
This critic's only hope would be that a label, any label, would pick up Mr. Fowler and nurture his talent.
~ C. Michael Bailey
- www.allaboutjazz.com
The 2004/2005 ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award recipients are:
Michael Blanco, 28, Astoria, NY; Robert Borgstede, 25, Troy, IL; Maurice Brown, 24, New Orleans, LA;
Patrick Cornelius, 26, Astoria, NY; Zaccai Curtis, 22, Windsor, CT; Jesse Elder, 21, Rochester, MI; Jason Flatley, 23, Baltimore, MD; Quamon Fowler, 24, Lubbock, TX; Jason Goldman, 29, South Pasadena, CA; David Guidi, 26, Austin, TX; Eric Hirsh, 20, Carrboro, NC; Pascal Le Boeuf, 18, Santa Cruz, CA; Remy Le Boeuf, 18, Santa Cruz, CA;
Rick Parker, 26, Brooklyn, NY; Christopher Pattishall, 18, Durham, NC; Nate Radley, 29, Astoria, NY; Bob Reynolds, 27, Astoria, NY; Daniel Riera, 17, San Francisco, CA; Sherisse Rogers, 26, Brooklyn, NY; Matt Savage, 12, Francestown, NH; Jeff Schneider, 17, Cos Cob, CT; Joey Schneider, 16, Novato, CA; Jaleel Shaw, 26, Paterson, NJ; and
Manuel Valera, 24, Brooklyn, NY.
- www.ascap.com
PCEC presented scholarships to two youngsters with disabilities: Quamon Fowler, Tenor Saxophone player from Fort Worth, Texas and Justin Machewich, Violinist from Vancouver, Washington. Each of these youngsters performed on the Terrance Theater stage in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. VSA Arts mission is to promote the creative power in people with disabilities. Fred Towns, Vice President, Sales Group within PCEC, is a member of the Board of Trustees of VSA Arts. - Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company
The ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Award Recipients - 2003
Javier Arau (age 27) Inside In, Inside Out 4 Voices, (S,A,A,T), Guitar, Bass, Drums
Maurice Brown (age 22) Rapture, Trumpet, Tenor Sax, Piano, Bass, Drums
Quamon Fowler (age 22) The Reinforcement, Tenor Saxophone, Trumpet, Piano, Bass, Drums
Ross Garren (age 17) Smithomaniacs, Piano
Gordon Haab (age 27) Urban Transformation, Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Quartet
Jeremy Pelt (age 26) Inner Sanctum, Trumpet, Tenor Sax, Piano, Bass, Drums
Greg Reitan (age 29) Man Overboard!, Piano, Bass, Drums
Bob Reynolds (age 25) Where Did You Come From?, Soprano Sax, Piano, Bass, Drums
Sherisse Rogers (age 24) Waiting, Big Band
Scott Routenberg (age 24) The Leonids, Violin, Alto Sax, Guitar, Piano, Bass, Drums
Jeremy Siskind (age 16) Infinity, Tenor Sax, Piano, Bass, Drums
Maxwell Snyder (age 26) Queen Anne's Revenge, Alto Sax, Guitar, Bass, Drums
Nicholas Urie (age 17) Neo, Flute, Alto Sax, 2 Flugelhorns, Trombone,Guitar, Bass, Piano, Drums
Brian Van Arsdale (age 23) The Beginning and the End, Big Band
Ed Weiss (age 24) Regret, Trumpet, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Piano, Bass, Drum
Ben Wendel (age 26) Touché, Tenor Sax, Elec Piano, Elec Bass, Drums
Honorable Mention: Dustin Drews, Thomas Cole Gardner, Jason Goldman, Hamilton Hayes, Pascal Le Boeuf, Mark Lemstrom, Irvin Mayfield, David Stansbury, Colton Weatherston, Miguel Zenon and Michael McMahon Webb.
- www.ascap.com
Tenorman Quamon Fowler, his long dreads tied up in a ponytail, was the night's delight. A master's student at Texas Tech in Lubbock, his solos had a satisfying sense of proportion. In Up Jump Spring, he built up gradually, climaxing in an abundant spray of notes. He showed his gentle side during Ask Me Now.
Fuller, Belgrave and Fowler were backed by the fine rhythm section of pianist Mark Eisenman, bassist Artie Roth and drummer Joe Poole.
Eisenman gave a rather pleasing account of All The Things You Are.
Roth was a consistently lyrical soloist, particularly in Star Eyes. Drummer Poole was totally focused and intent in Caravan.
The combo ambushed the audience by bringing out a "surprise" guest vocalist. Jessie Roth's milquetoast version of Autumn Leaves was, if one didn't know any better, either an Amateur Hour salute to the first night of fall, or simply, plain old nepotism (she's the bassist's sister).
In the second half, she had trouble just keeping steady time while snapping the countdown to You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To. Belgrave unintentionally "ambushed" Roth by bringing on another "surprise" vocalist, Michigan-based Joan Bow-Miller. Mama! This gal's got soul from head to toe. And she let it all out in an incendiary rendition of You Don't Know Me. However, her original tune, He Called My Name, needs some melodic refinement.
The guys finished the show with Hard Times, a tribute to Newman, Fuller finally soloing in expansive style.
Leonard Turnevicius is a music educator and organist.
- Hamilton Spectator
Curtis Fuller stomped off the tempo with his right foot. "The Clan" — 'the other clan', he joked — was a one-note bass drone that got the rhythm section burning and prepared the way for the chanting theme statement from the front line of Marcus Belgrave on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, and young firebrand Quamon Fowler on tenor saxophone. Drummer Joe Poole's sense of detail and energetic precision, never mind an evening's worth of forward moving conversations with acoustic bassist Artie Roth, clearly delighted Mark Eisenman, the occasionally bemused helmsman at the piano, and definitely kept the audience involved for most of the near three-hour long concert at the acoustically-friendly Isabel Bader Theatre. Before Intermission, two guest women artists got to shine, as young Jessie Ross delivered a haunting vocal interpretation of "Autumn Leaves" (the tenor obbligatos of Quamon Fowler emphasized the distinct blue tinge in these autumn leaves), and right before the band blew on the rousing Juan Tizol classic, "Caravan", the cries and glories of Motown song were physicalized by (Sister) Joanne I'll call her, in glowing orange African dress, as she delivered an emotionally wrought performance.
It's worth mentioning that throughout the concert, Belgrave and Fuller kept their own solos to a modest 2 or 3 choruses while encouraging the others to solo at greater length. To the audience's satisfaction, Quamon Fowler stretched out and energized the night with his inner burrowing tenor on such spotlight tunes like "Arabia", and "Inner Urge", the turbulent Joe Henderson tune. It was just another example of the 'you first' mentorship attitude of Belgrave and Fuller towards talented younger musicians.
- by David Fujino
Discography
2004 Arlington Jones, Move the Heart, (not yet released) Dallas, TX
2004 Bethany World Prayer Center, We Praise Your Name Live Concert, Baton Rouge, LA
2004 Darryl Reeves, Diary of a Bandstand, New Orleans, LA
2004 Quamon Fowler, The Vision, (not yet released) Fort Worth, TX
2003 Amos Singleton, Pastors in Praise, Baton Rouge, LA
2002 MDM & Voices, Gospel Music Conference, Fort Worth, TX
2001 Arlington Jones, The Author and the Source, Lancaster, TX
2000 Lumark Gulley, Printilla, New Orleans, LA
2000 Quamon Fowler, Introducing Quamon Fowler, Arlington, TX
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Quamon Fowler is a native of Fort Worth, Texas. He started his musical journey on the tenor saxophone at the age of twelve and has been composing music since he was fifteen. While attending O.D. Wyatt High School, he placed first in the NAACP ACT-SO competition in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1996 and Atlanta, Georgia in 1998. He also earned first chair tenor saxophone in the All-State Jazz Ensemble in 1998. After graduating from Wyatt, Quamon attended Weatherford College where he was under the direction of jazz guitarist Tom Burchill.
A year later, Quamon felt he needed to deepen his music studies. He decided to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Here, he studied with world-renowned clarinetist Alvin Batiste. By the end of July 2000, Quamon released his first independent CD project entitled Introducing Quamon Fowler. In this album, Quamon combined straight-ahead jazz and soul in order to create a unique sound.
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. In the spring of 2002, Quamon was selected to be a part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program, which also took place at the Kennedy Center. In October of the same year, his composition, “The Reinforcement,” was reviewed and selected as one of the top three compositions by Billy Harper, Mariah Snider, 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. In spring of 2003, Quamon was selected to participate in the Jazz and the New Generation program, hosted by Dr. Billy Taylor. This allowed him yet another opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center. In the summer of the same year, Quamon was selected to participate in the Ravinia Steans Jazz Institute in Illinois. Here, he was able to perform at the Ravinia Jazz Festival directed by David Baker. In December of 2003, Quamon had the honor of performing with Nathan Davis, Curtis Fuller, George Cables, and Jimmy Woody as a part of the Paris Reunion Band in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Quamon’s spiritual relationship with God has truly influenced his musical career. He is a believer in Jesus Christ. Therefore, his relationship with Him is expressed in his music. Through being raised in church, Quamon has learned how to be passionate, patient, aggressive, and intense in both his life and music. He knows that God has chosen him to be His instrument.
—Ayanna Jackson-Fowler
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