Stanley Cowell

• Name — Stanley Cowell • Born — 5 May 1941 • Birthplace — Toledo, Ohio, U.S. • Died — 17 December 2020 • Place of death — Dover, Delaware, U.S. • Instrument — Piano • Genre — Jazz • Occupation — Musician • Label — Arista, DIW, Galaxy, SteepleChase, Strata-East • Past Member Of — Roland Kirk, Marion Brown, Charles Tolliver, Max Roach

Cowell was born in Toledo, Ohio. He began playing the piano around the age of four, and became interested in jazz after seeing Art Tatum, at the age of six, playing You Took Advantage of Me at his parents' house. Tatum was a family friend. After high school, Cowell studied classical piano with Emil Danenberg at Oberlin Conservatory of Music He included "Emil Danenberg" in his 1973 suite "Musa: Ancestral Dreams". During his time at Oberlin, he played with jazz multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk, which proved to be formative. He went on to receive a graduate degree in classical piano from the University of Michigan. He moved to New York in the mid-1960s.

• Illustration — Cowell with the Heath Brothers at Sproul Plaza, University of California, Berkeley, May 1980 Cowell played with Marion Brown, Max Roach, Bobby Hutcherson, Clifford Jordan, Harold Land, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz. Cowell played with trumpeter Charles Moore and others in the Detroit Artist's Workshop Jazz Ensemble in 1965–66. In 1971, Cowell co-founded the record label Strata-East with trumpeter Charles Tolliver. The label would become one of the most successful Black-led, independent labels of its day. During the late 1980s, Cowell was part of a regular quartet led by J.J. Johnson. Cowell taught in the Music Department of the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Jersey. On December 17, 2020, Cowell died at Bayhealth Hospital in Dover, Delaware, from hypovolemic shock. He was 79 years old.

• Recording date — Title — Label — Year released — Notes • 1969–06 — Blues for the Viet Cong — Freedom — 1969 — Trio, with Steve Novosel (bass), Jimmy Hopps (drums); also released as Travellin' Man by Black Lion • 1969–09 — Brilliant Circles — Freedom — 1972 — With Woody Shaw (trumpet, maracas), Tyrone Washington (tenor sax, flute, clarinet, maracas, tambourine), Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone), Reggie Workman (bass, electric bass), Joe Chambers (drums) • 1972–06, 1972–10 — Handscapes — Strata-East — 1973 — As The Piano Choir; with Nat Jones, Hugh Lawson, Webster Lewis, Harold Mabern, Danny Mixon and Sonelius Smith (piano, electric piano, vocals, percussion, African piano, harpsichord) • 1972-11 — Illusion Suite — ECM — 1973 — Trio, with Stanley Clarke (bass), Jimmy Hopps (drums) • 1973-11 — Musa: Ancestral Streams — Strata-East — 1974 — Solo piano, electric piano, kalimba • 1974–08 – 1974–12 — Handscapes 2 — Strata-East — 1975 — As The Piano Choir; with Sonelius Smith (piano, electric piano), Ron Burton, Nat Jones, Hugh Lawson, Webster Lewis and Harold Mabern (piano), Mtume, Jimmy Hopps and John Lewis (percussion) • 1975–04 — Regeneration — Strata-East — 1976 — With Marion Brown (wooden flute), Jimmy Heath (soprano sax, flute, alto flute), John Stubblefield (zuna), Jerry Venable (guitar), Psyche Wanzandae (harmonica, flute), Bill Lee (bass), Aleke Kanonu (bass drum, vocals), Billy Higgins (drums, gembhre, percussion), Ed Blackwell (water drum, parade drum, percussion), Nadi Quamar (mama-lekimbe, percussion, Madigascan harp), Charles Fowlkes (vocals, electric bass), Glenda Barnes and Kareema (vocals) • 1977–06 — Waiting for the Moment — Galaxy — 1977 — Solo piano, electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer, kalimba • 1977 — Talkin' 'bout Love — Galaxy — 1978 — With Albert "Tootie" Heath (drums), Keith Hatchel (electric bass), Clifford Coulter (guitar), Kenneth Nash (finger cymbals, gong, congas), Julian Priester (trombone), Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Charles B. Fowlkes, Jr. (vocals), Loretta Devine (vocals) • 1978-11 — Equipoise — Galaxy — 1979 — Trio, with Cecil McBee (bass), Roy Haynes (drums) • 1978–11 — New World — Galaxy — 1981 — Large ensemble, with Eddie Henderson (trumpet, electric trumpet, flugelhorn), Julian Priester (trombone (alto, tenor, bass)), Pat Patrick (piccolo flute, flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone), Cecil McBee (bass), Nate Rubin (violin), Terry Adams (cello), Roy Haynes (drums), Kenneth Nash (percussion), Judy Lacey (vocals), Linda Mandolph (vocals), Robert Mandolph (vocals) • 1983–07 — Such Great Friends — Strata-East — 1991 — Quartet, with Billy Harper (tenor sax), Reggie Workman (bass), Billy Hart (drums) • 1985–06 — Live at Cafe Des Copains — Unisson — 1986 — Solo piano; in concert • 1987–12 — We Three — DIW — 1989 — Trio, with Buster Williams (bass), Frederick Waits (drums) • 1989–07 — Back to the Beautiful — Concord Jazz — 1989 — One track solo piano; most tracks trio, with Santi Debriano (bass), Joe Chambers (drums); some tracks quartet, with Steve Coleman (alto sax, soprano sax) added • 1989–07 — Sienna — SteepleChase — 1989 — Trio, with Ron McClure (bass), Keith Copeland (drums) • 1990–03 — Departure No. 2 — SteepleChase — 1990 — Trio, with Bob Cranshaw (bass), Keith Copeland (drums) • 1990–06 — Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Volume Five — Concord Jazz — 1990 — Solo piano; in concert • 1990–08 — Close to You Alone — DIW — 1990 — Trio, with Cecil McBee (bass), Ronnie Burrage (drums) • 1991–08 — Games — SteepleChase — 1991 — Trio, with Cheyney Thomas (bass), Wardell Thomas (drums) • 1993–04 — Bright Passion — SteepleChase — 1993 — Trio, with Cheyney Thomas (bass), Wardell Thomas (drums) • 1993–04 — Angel Eyes — SteepleChase — 1994 — Solo piano • 1993–04 — Live at Copenhagen Jazz House — SteepleChase — 1995 — Trio, with Cheyney Thomas (bass), Wardell Thomas (drums); in concert • 1993–10 — Setup — SteepleChase — 1994 — Sextet, with Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Dick Griffin (trombone), Rick Margitza (tenor sax), Peter Washington (bass), Billy Hart (drums) • 1995–11 — Mandara Blossoms — SteepleChase — 1996 — With Billy Pierce (tenor sax), Jeff Halsey (bass), Ralph Peterson (drums), Karen Francis (vocals) • 1996–10 — Hear Me One — SteepleChase — 1997 — With Bruce Williams (alto sax), Dwayne Burno, Keith Copeland (drums) • 1999–06 — Dancers in Love — Venus — 2000 — Trio, with Tarus Mateen (bass), Nasheet Waits (drums) • 2010–02 — Prayer for Peace — SteepleChase — 2010 — Trio, with Mike Richmond (bass), Victor Lewis (drums) • 2011–12 — It's Time — SteepleChase — 2012 — Trio, with Tom DiCarlo (bass), Chris Brown (drums) • 2011–12 — Welcome to This New World — SteepleChase — 2013 — Empathlectrik Quartet With Vic Juris (guitar), Tom DiCarlo (bass), Chris Brown (drums) • 2014–03 — Are You Real? — SteepleChase — 2014 — Trio, with Jay Anderson (bass), Billy Drummond (drums) • 2014–11 — Juneteenth — Vision Fugitive — 2015 — Solo piano • 2015–02 — Reminiscent — SteepleChase — 2015 — Trio, with Jay Anderson (bass), Billy Drummond (drums) • 2015–12 — No Illusions — SteepleChase — 2017 — Quartet, with Bruce Williams (alto sax, flute), Jay Anderson (bass), Billy Drummond (drums) • 2019–10 — Live at Keystone Korner Baltimore — SteepleChase — 2020 — Quintet, with Freddie Hendrix (trumpet), Bruce Williams (alto sax), Tom DiCarlo (bass), Vince Ector (drums), Sunny Cowell (vocal); in concert

The Heath Brothers • Marchin' On (1975) • Passing Thru (1978) • In Motion (1979) • Live at the Public Theater (1980) • Expressions of Life (1980) • Brotherly Love (1982) • Brothers and Others (1984)

With Marion Brown • Three for Shepp (Impulse!, 1967) • Why Not? (1968) • Vista (Impulse!, 1975) With Larry Coryell • Equipoise (Muse, 1985) • Toku Do (Muse, 1987) With Richard Davis • Fancy Free (Galaxy, 1977) • Way Out West (Muse, 1980) – rec. 1977 With Roy Haynes • Thank You Thank You (Galaxy, 1977) • Vistalite (Galaxy, 1979) With Jimmy Heath • Love and Understanding (Muse, 1973) • The Time and the Place (Landmark, 1994) With Bobby Hutcherson • Now! (Blue Note, 1970) • Spiral (Blue Note, 1979) • Patterns (Blue Note, 1980) • Medina (Blue Note, 1980) With Art Pepper • Art Pepper Today (Galaxy, 1978) • Winter Moon (Galaxy, 1980) • One September Afternoon (Galaxy, 1980) With Charles Tolliver • The Ringer (Polydor, 1969) • Live at Slugs (Strata-East, 1970) • Music Inc. (Strata-East, 1971) • Impact (Enja, 1972) • Live in Tokyo (Strata-East, 1973) • Impact (Strata-East, 1975) • With Love (Blue Note, 2006) • Emperor March: Live at the Blue Note (Half Note, 2009) With others • Rashied Ali, First Time Out: Live at Slugs 1967 (Survival, 2020) • Jay Clayton, Live at Jazz Alley (ITM Pacific, 1991) • Gary Bartz, Another Earth (Milestone, 1969) • Sonny Fortune, Long Before Our Mothers Cried (Strata-East, 1974) • Stan Getz, The Song Is You (Laserlight, 1996) • Johnny Griffin, Birds and Ballads (Galaxy,1978) • J.J. Johnson, Standards-Live At The Village Vanguard (Antilles, 1991) • Clifford Jordan, Glass Bead Games (Strata-East, 1974) • James Mtume, Rebirth Cycle (Third Street, 1977) • Oliver Nelson, Swiss Suite (Flying Dutchman, 1972) • Jimmy Owens, Headin' Home (A&M/Horizon, 1978) • Max Roach, Members, Don't Git Weary (Atlantic, 1968) • Charles Sullivan, Genesis (Strata-East, 1974) • Buddy Terry, Awareness (Mainstream, 1971)

Stanley Cowell is recorded with the occupation pianist. Recorded as pianist, jazz musician, university teacher and composer.