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Ken Franckling review for “Dedicated”….

kenfrancklingjazznotes.blogspot.com

Ralph Bowen, Dedicated (Posi-Tone)
Tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen recorded this forceful CD of original material as a musical thank you to six mentors who played key roles in his musical and career development. The Canadian first emerged on the New York scene in the 1980s as co-leader of Blue Note Records’ sextet Out of the Blue. This new CD teams him with guitarist Adam Rogers, bassist John Patitucci, drummer Antonio Sanchez and trumpeter Sean Jones, who guests on one track.

Everything here is a gem, showcasing Bowen’s muscular tenor and strong credentials as a composer and improviser. Favorites: Rogers’ soloing and comping on the opener “Canary Drums,” the spirited Bowen-Jones interplay and unison on “Mr. Bebop” and the beautiful ensemble work on “Prof.” (The six tracks are dedicated to the late Keith Blackley, Pat LaBarbera, Jim Blackley, David Baker, William Fielder and Eugene Rousseau.)

 

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ejazznews review for “Dedicated”….

www.ejazznews.com

An educator by profession who holds a position at Rutgers University, Canadian-born saxophonist Ralph Bowen is the latest Posi-Tone Records project producing a hard-driving dose of modern/mainstream jazz with his newest vibrant CD “Dedicated.” Bowen claims influences from many saxophone greats like Bob Mintzer, Pat LaBarbera and the legendary Stan Getz with which Bowen earns comparisons on to such tunes as “Canary Drums” and “Mr. Bebop.” Though only a handful of tunes grace this recording coming in at under 45 minutes, the all original selection delivers a “harmonic message with stunning lyricism” dedicated to several of his mentors(Pat LaBarbera, David Baker, Keith Blackley and Jim Blackley, William Fielder and Eugene Rousseau).

Bowen enlists the help of several top flight musicians who, with their play, provide the sparks that Bowen counts on to move the music forward. He builds a powerful rhythm section led by guitarist Adam Rogers, it also includes the renowned bassist John Patitucci and drummer Antonio Sanchez pounding the cowhide. Of special note is the inclusion of trumpeter Sean Jones who ha s just released a masterful recording of his own (“The Search Within”).

There’s plenty of musical energy on “Dedicated” supplied not only by Ralph Bowen’s own muscular tenor phrasings, but glowing from sparkling solos from the various members of the band—that all together combine in providing one shining performance marking this album a serious contender not a pretender.

Year: 2009
Label: Posi-Tone Records
Artist Web: www.ralphbowen.com

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Here’s what All About Jazz had to say about Ralph Bowen’s new CD “Dedicated” featuring guitarist Adam Rogers, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Antonio Sanchez…

www.allaboutjazz.com

Back in the 1980s, tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen was a member of a young and thoroughly hip progressive jazz ensemble known as OTB—Out Of The Blue. Since then, he’s been an in-demand session artist. With Dedicated, he garners superb support from a top-flight ensemble, but it’s Bowen’s dynamic presence and big sound that fully reveal his colossal talents.
Bowen packs a mighty wallop, steeped within his full-bodied tone and muscular phraseology, all spiced with lyrically resplendent theme-building persuasions. Here, the artist merges mainstream jazz with a modern slant via force and relentless energy. These attributes radiate on “Qaiyam,” where his yearning lines are punctuated by the rhythm section’s staggered pulse, colorific accents and guitarist Adam Rogers’ dark-toned solo.

The band effortlessly whirls through brisk bop motifs amid resonating dialogues, evidenced by trumpeter Sean Jones’ spry choruses and feisty exchanges with the leader during “Mr. Bebop.” The band exhibits creativity and enthusiasm to complement the soloists’ crafty improvisational passages.

Bowen combines nuance with penetrating harmonic frameworks throughout this thrilling, rapidly-paced outing. And while the album clocks in at a little over LP length, Bowen opts for quality vs. quantity, using smart compositions and the ensemble’s synergistic interaction to achieve that goal.

Track listing: Canary Drums; Pat; Qaiyam; Mr. Bebop; Prof; E.R.

Personnel: Ralph Bowen: tenor saxophone; Sean Jones: trumpet; Adam Rogers: guitar; John Patitucci: bass; Antonio Sanchez: drums.

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Blaine Fallis AAJ review of Ralph Bowen “Dedicated”….

www.allaboutjazz.com

Tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen’s Dedicated is a project that was nurtured and produced by Posi-tone Records‘ founder Marc Free, who felt that Bowen was under-appreciated by the jazz public at large. Bowen has influenced hundreds of players through his teaching position at Rutgers, and many top jazz players know how skilled he is. Having heard him live several times, Free has long admired Bowen’s sound and technical ability on his horn, and wanted people to really hear how good he was.

This goal was accomplished by starting with the concept of basing the supporting ensemble around guitar, since Bowen’s previous recordings were often accompanied by organ or piano. Free and Bowen discussed several names before agreeing that Adam Rogers would be a good choice, due in part to the excellent working relationship Bowen already had with Free, the musical trust they shared, and Rogers’ ability to mix subtlety and intuition into an ensemble. The logical next step was to bring in John Patitucci (bass) and Antonio Sanchez(drums), since they had already played together with Rogers hundreds of times, both with Rogers as leader, and in other groups such as Chris Potter Underground.

The musicians rehearsed together for 2 weeks in the making of this recording, and it was mixed for another 2 weeks, which is rare in the world of all-star jazz recordings.

The well-matched timbre of the group’s sound reveals that the time and care put into this project paid off. Bowen has a mastery of his instrument not unlike Michael Brecker, cites John Coltrane as his main influence, but plays with more nuance and reserve than either. He travels through the music and chooses to become part of the fiber of the group-sound, except on “E.R.,” which is a solo piece that let’s him weave his own song, from long drawn out tones to 32nd-note runs, syncopated triplets and reflection.

That’s why the choice of sidemen on this recording is so important. The slightly reserved modern cool that each player is able to bring to the studio matches up with Bowen’s playing style, and Posi-Tone’s Free as producer and engineer Nick O’Toole serve as kind of sixth and seventh men on this project.

Sanchez, for example, has demonstrated in his career with the Pat Metheny Group and on his solo work as well that he can play with subtlety, and make it exciting at the same time. It’s not Elvin Jones-type crash and bang drumming; Sanchez often uses a light touch and many soft to medium cymbal strokes to bring out a more reflective artistic sound, but he enhances his playing by finding varied ways to communicate.

Rogers’ tone on guitar is also something that blends into the collective sound. His reserved style is modern, and full of potential sparks, leaving listeners keen to hear where he will go next. But he supports the songs, and is able to soar into several important solos that would only work if they were on par with Bowen’s tenor sax riffs, and they very much are.

John Patitucci is able fully to support the band by playing with a style that could be described as dark, full and round. He’s like a prominent tree trunk that allows the rest of the players to branch out and ascend.

Sean Jones adds trumpet to the mix on “Mr. Bebop,” playing counterpoint through the head, and taking off on a solo midway through, introducing a new sound to the ensemble at just the right time.

Dedicated consists of just six songs with a total recorded time of 42 minutes, a throwback to the days of Blue Note discs that tended to run short, but made up for it with quality. Each tune is dedicated to one of Bowen’s mentors (Keith Blackley, Pat LaBarbera, Jim Blackley, David Baker, William Fielder, and Eugene Rousseau).

“The recent passing of a close friend and mentor left me with the distinct awareness of my personal need to acknowledge several of my contemporaries for their support and influence on my own musical development. Dedicated is a musical message of gratitude to my mentors for their time, patience, wisdom, knowledge and friendship.” (Ralph Bowen)

“One way or another we all have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life and dedicate ourselves to that.” (Joseph Campbell)
Tracks: Canary Drums; Pat; Qaiyam; Mr. Bebop; Prof.; E.R.

Personnel: Ralph Bowen: tenor saxophone; Sean Jones: trumpet; Adam Rogers: guitar; John Patitucci: bass; Antonio Sanchez: drums.

 

 

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jazz.com write-up for Ralph Bowen’s “Canary Drums”….

http://www.jazz.com/music/2009/6/21/ralph-bowen-canary-drums

RALPH BOWEN: CANARY DRUMS

TRACK

Canary Drums

ARTIST

Ralph Bowen (tenor sax)

CD

Dedicated (Positone 8052)

Buy Track

Musicians:

Ralph Bowen (tenor sax), Adam Rogers (guitar), John Patitucci(bass), Antonio Sanchez (drums).

Composed by Ralph Bowen

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Recorded: Brooklyn, NY, October 19, 2008

Ralph_bowen--dedicated 

RATING: 94/100 (learn more)

Ralph Bowen’s distinguished resum� includes extended work with Horace Silver, Michel Camilo and the group Out of the Blue. He has a beautifully manicured sound that pours out of his tenor in cascades of tonal beauty. His playing has exceptional fluidity without the slightest degradation of tone. It is filled with inventiveness and free from clich�. As an educator at Rutgers University, where he is a respected associate professor of jazz saxophone and director of the jazz ensemble, he undoubtedly inspires his students with his acumen.

On his CD Dedicated, a compilation of Bowen compositions dedicated to some of his mentors, he has assembled a group of master musicians. Their presence on this effort validates Bowen�s unheralded talents both as a composer and as an artist of exceptional taste.

�Canary Drums� is dedicated to the late Canadian drummer Keith Blackley. Bowen has composed a vibrant and harmonically dense piece of music, the complexity of which is masked by his deceptively laid back delivery. His ability to play sequential streams of sound in a flawless succession appears boundless. Rodgers is equally stealth-like in his understated multi-layered solo. Patitucci and Sanchez are so in tune to each other�s movements that you can feel them dance to the rhythm they create behind Bowen and Rodgers. A careful listen to Bowen�s command of tone and breath on his whispered, fluttering ending is worth the price of admission. With this tasty piece of post-bop music, Ralph Bowen commands wider recognition.

 

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jazzchicago.net review of “Dedicated”….

www.jazzchicago.net

Ralph Bowen – “Dedicated”
(Positone)
Wow, this cat can really blow. Where do these great, relatively unknown players come from. Apparently tenor saxophonist Bowen is well known around the NYC-area, where he co-led the ’80s “OTB-Out of the Blue” sextet, and is now an instructor at Rutgers U., but he was new to me. And a pleasure it is to make the musical acquaintance. Backed by the stellar cast of Adam Rogers on guitar, Antonio Sanchez on drums and John Patitucci on bass, Bowen shows himself to be not only be both a bold and creative player with monster chops, but also a fine composer as well. Each of the six songs is dedicated to a personal mentor and it is clear these men mean a great deal to the saxman, as evidenced by the care and precision taken with the playing and arrangements. I would venture to say that Bowen, like Donny McCaslin and Chris Potter, has studied his Coltrane (especially on the Giant-Steps-ish “Qaiyum”), Brecker and Rollins, but has fashioned a flavor of his own that is distinct – melodic and seemingly always in control. “Canary Drums” swings in the post-bop manner, with shifting moves, while Rogers exhibits some nice traditionalist soloing on the stately “Pat” and eleswhere. Standout may be the crackling “Mr. Bebop,” with Bowen pulling off Coltrane licks and young trumpeter Sean Jones stopping by with a superb Miles Davis flavored solo on this Wayne Shorter/Herbie Hancock-flavored track. Don’t be a stranger. Ralph.

 

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Music and More: Ralph Bowen….

jazzandblues.blogspot.com

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 03, 2009

Ralph Bowen – Dedicated (Positone, 2009)

I can’t help but be a homer and root for saxophonist Ralph Bowen who teaches at Rutgers and gigs quite a bit in my area (I actually booked him to play in my Library a few years ago.) This is a nice straight ahead album of confident modern jazz, with Sean Jones on trumpet, Adam Rogers on guitar, John Patitucci on bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums. “Canary Drums” opens the album with a mid-tempo groove. A flowing saxophone solo follows the melody building nicely to a cascading solo. “Qaiyam” burns hard with Bowen digging deep on tenor saxophone, splashy guitar accents and the bass and drums engine driving the music along in a muscular manner. It’s a textbook perfect piece of modern bebop. “Mr. Bebop” keeps that same groove going with some impressive ensemble playing, and a nice deep confident (but not smug) sounding tenor saxophone solo. Jones chimes in and stretches out on a blustery solo, and Rogers adds a tasteful solo of his own. The group comes back to improvise together nicely and take the tune out. It’s easy to imagine this tune being a favorite of the band when playing live, there’s a lot of room for everyone to blow and add their ideas to the common good. “Prof.” is a pleasant mid-tempo tune with a lyrical saxophone melody that evolves into a biting solo with some over blowing for emphasis. Rogers takes a fast paced and complex, yet understated solo, with the tone of his guitar seeming subdued. “E.R.” solo saxophone plaintive and bluesy, acting like a solo coda or encore to the album. This was an enjoyable album of modern based bebop jazz. The group keeps the energy level high and both the solos and the ensemble playing is at a very high level.