CURATION
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from this page:
by Matrix
The Integrated Global Creative Economy
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Name:
Ulysses Owens Jr.
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City/Place:
New York City
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Country:
United States
Life & Work
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Bio:
Renowned as a performer, producer, and educator, Ulysses Owens Jr. transcends boundaries within the jazz realm and beyond, boasting an impressive repertoire of eight successful albums. His prowess shines through in his collaborations, notably contributing to GRAMMY Award-winning albums by Kurt Elling and The Christian McBride Big Band. On February 3rd, 2023, Owens clinched his 3rd GRAMMY Award for his remarkable work on an album featuring Steven Feiftke, Bijon Watson, and the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra.
Owens' musical endeavors have garnered critical acclaim, with both Jazziz and Rolling Stone Magazines recognizing his album "Songs of Freedom" as a Top Ten Album in 2019. In 2021, his latest Big Band release, "Soul Conversations," claimed the top spot in May, as voted by JazzIz Magazine. The album's success transcended print, receiving widespread praise and securing spots on coveted playlists across Apple Music, Spotify, and Sirius XM. Currently, the Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band is captivating audiences nationwide on their tour, further solidifying their status as the "Rising Star Big Band" of 2022, as declared by Downbeat Magazine.
His eighth and most recent album, "A New Beat," showcases his innovative "Generation Y" Band under the Cellar Jazz record label. Produced by Jeremy Pelt and recorded at the iconic Rudy Van Gelder Studios, the album has already made waves in 2024. Jazziz Magazine heralded "A New Beat" as one of the "10 Albums You Need to Know," while it continues to dominate streaming platforms like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal. Holding steady at the #1 spot on the Jazz Week Radio Charts for eight consecutive weeks, the album's popularity shows no signs of waning. Fresh off a successful stint in Tokyo, Japan, where they graced the Cotton Club stage in March, the band is poised to headline the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival in the upcoming Fall season.
As an author, Ulysses has penned two notable books: "Jazz Brushes for the Modern Drummer: An Essential Guide to the Art of Keeping Time" and "The Musician's Career Guide: Turning Your Talent into Sustained Success," distributed by Simon and Schuster. His third literary offering, "Jazz Big Band for the Modern Drummer: The Essential Guide to the Large Ensemble," published by Hal Leonard Publications in January 2024, clinched the prestigious "Editor’s Pick" award from Musicians Inc Magazine at NAMM 2024 in Anaheim, California.
In the realm of product innovation, Ulysses has forged partnerships with industry leaders. Collaborating with Noble & Cooley Snare Drums, he recently unveiled the "U" Snare Drum, set to hit global markets on April 15th. Additionally, his collaboration with Dragonfly Percussion yielded the "U" Bass Drum beater, tailored for drumset players across various genres.
Ulysses is a prolific contributing writer for esteemed publications including WJCT Jacksonville Music Experience, Downbeat Magazine, Jazz Times Magazine, Percussive Arts Journal, Not So Modern Drummer blog, and an Op-Ed contributor to the Florida Times Union Newspaper.
As an educator, Ulysses has made significant contributions to The Juilliard School's jazz faculty, serving as Small Ensemble Director for over seven years and actively participating in the EDIB (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging) committee. He has led panels, conducted workshops within the Alan D. Marks Entrepreneurship division, and holds the role of Artistic Director for "Don't Miss A Beat," a family arts non-profit in Jacksonville, Florida. Recently appointed as the Artistic Director for the Generation Y Summer Jazz Camp in Jacksonville, Florida, Ulysses is poised to make further strides in jazz education. Furthermore, he has been invited to join the Drumeo Online Educational Platform as their inaugural Jazz Drum Instructor, developing the curriculum for his interactive course, "30 Day Jazz Drummer," slated for launch in Fall 2024.
Ulysses is also known for his creation of several online jazz drum video courses, including "Jazz Drumming 101" (Mini-Course) for Drumeo and "Finding Your Beat," "The Art of Swing," and "Jazz Drumming 101" for Open Studio. He previously hosted the immensely popular weekly live YouTube series, "From The Drummer’s Perspective."
As a Cultural Entrepreneur, Ulysses has garnered recognition through various prestigious awards, including the "Difference Maker" Award from Beacon College, the "Robert Arleigh White Advocacy Award" from the Cultural Council of Northeast Florida, and multiple grants from the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida as an Individual Artist. His contributions to the arts have been further acknowledged with the 2023 Ann Baker McDonald Art Ventures award from the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida. Additionally, he was honored in 2022 as part of the "40 Under 40" list by the Jacksonville Business Journal and was selected for the 2023 Leadership Jacksonville class.
In April 2024, Ulysses will embark on a new endeavor in the realm of radio alongside his co-host, Keanna Faircloth, a celebrated anchor in Jazz Radio with previous shows on NPR and WBGO. Together, they've crafted "Jazz Beyond Tradition" for the Jacksonville Music Experience on WJCT Public Radio, scheduled to debut on April 21, 2024, on 89.9 FM. Their program promises to delve into Jazz Voices from the Past, Present, and Future through captivating interviews featuring local and national public personalities.
Despite his busy schedule, Ulysses remains highly sought-after for new projects and consulting opportunities, solidifying his status as one of the foremost thought-leaders of his generation. However, amidst his professional pursuits, he maintains a steadfast commitment to giving back and expressing gratitude for each new day to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
Contact Information
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Management/Booking:
Management and Booking inquiries for Ulysses Owens Jr.:
Myles Weinstein [email protected]
PR inquiries for Ulysses Owens Jr.:
Lydia Liebman
https://lydialiebman.com/index.php/ask-for-a-quote
European booking inquiries for Ulysses Owens Jr.:
Nicola Adriani
[email protected]
Clips (more may be added)
Few people know that the Bay of All Saints was final port-of-call for more enslaved human beings than any other such throughout all of human history. And few people know the transcendence these people, and their descendents, wrought. That's where this Matrix begins...
Wolfram MathWorld
The idea is simple, powerful, and egalitarian: To propagate for them, the Matrix must propagate for all. Most in the world are within six degrees of us. The concept of a "small world" network (see Wolfram above) applies here, placing artists from the Recôncavo and the sertão, from Salvador... from Brooklyn, Berlin and Mombassa... musicians, writers, filmmakers... clicks (recommendations) away from their peers all over the planet.
This Integrated Global Creative Economy (we invented the concept) uncoils from Brazil's sprawling Indigenous, African, Sephardic and then Ashkenazic, Arabic, European, Asian cultural matrix... expanding like the canopy of a rainforest tree rooted in Bahia, branches spreading to embrace the entire world...
Recent Visitors Map
Great culture is great power.
And in a small world great things are possible.
Alicia Svigals
"Thanks, this is a brilliant idea!!"
—Alicia Svigals (NEW YORK CITY): Apotheosis of klezmer violinists
"Dear Sparrow: I am thrilled to receive your email! Thank you for including me in this wonderful matrix."
—Susan Rogers (BOSTON): Director of the Berklee Music Perception and Cognition Laboratory ... Former personal recording engineer for Prince; "Purple Rain", "Sign o' the Times", "Around the World in a Day"
"Dear Sparrow, Many thanks for this – I am touched!"
—Julian Lloyd Webber (LONDON): Premier cellist in UK; brother of Andrew (Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Phantom of the Opera...)
"This is super impressive work ! Congratulations ! Thanks for including me :)))"
—Clarice Assad (RIO DE JANEIRO/CHICAGO): Pianist and composer with works performed by Yo Yo Ma and orchestras around the world
"We appreciate you including Kamasi in the matrix, Sparrow."
—Banch Abegaze (LOS ANGELES): manager, Kamasi Washington
"Thanks! It looks great!....I didn't write 'Cantaloupe Island' though...Herbie Hancock did! Great Page though, well done! best, Randy"
"Very nice! Thank you for this. Warmest regards and wishing much success for the project! Matt"
—Son of Jimmy Garrison (bass for John Coltrane, Bill Evans...); plays with Herbie Hancock and other greats...
I opened the shop in Salvador, Bahia in 2005 in order to create an outlet to the wider world for magnificent Brazilian musicians.
David Dye & Kim Junod for NPR found us (above), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (he's a huge jazz fan), David Byrne, Oscar Castro-Neves... Spike Lee walked past the place while I was sitting on the stoop across the street drinking beer and listening to samba from the speaker in the window...
But we weren't exactly easy for the world-at-large to get to. So in order to extend the place's ethos I transformed the site associated with it into a network wherein Brazilian musicians I knew would recommend other Brazilian musicians, who would recommend others...
And as I anticipated, the chalky hand of God-as-mathematician intervened: In human society — per the small-world phenomenon — most of the billions of us on earth are within some 6 or fewer degrees of each other. Likewise, within a network of interlinked artists as I've described above, most of these artists will in the same manner be at most a handful of steps away from each other.
So then, all that's necessary to put the Brazilians within possible purview of the wide wide world is to include them among a wide wide range of artists around that world.
If, for example, Quincy Jones is inside the matrix, then anybody on his page — whether they be accessing from a campus in L.A., a pub in Dublin, a shebeen in Cape Town, a tent in Mongolia — will be close, transitable steps away from Raymundo Sodré, even if they know nothing of Brazil and are unaware that Sodré sings/dances upon this planet. Sodré, having been knocked from the perch of fame and ground into anonymity by Brazil's dictatorship, has now the alternative of access to the world-at-large via recourse to the vast potential of network theory.
...to the degree that other artists et al — writers, researchers, filmmakers, painters, choreographers...everywhere — do also. Artificial intelligence not required. Real intelligence, yes.
Years ago in NYC (I've lived here in Brazil for 32 years now) I "rescued" unpaid royalties (performance & mechanical) for artists/composers including Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Mongo Santamaria, Jim Hall, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd (for his rights in Bob Marley compositions; Clement was Bob's first producer), Led Zeppelin, Ray Barretto, Philip Glass and many others. Aretha called me out of the blue vis-à-vis money owed by Atlantic Records. Allen Klein (managed The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles) called about money due the estate of Sam Cooke. Jerry Ragovoy (Time Is On My Side, Piece of My Heart) called just to see if he had any unpaid money floating around out there (the royalty world was a shark-filled jungle, to mangle metaphors, and I doubt it's changed).
But the pertinent client (and friend) in the present context is Earl "Speedo" Carroll, of The Cadillacs. Earl went from doo-wopping on Harlem streetcorners to chart-topping success to working as a custodian at PS 87 elementary school on the west side of Manhattan. Through all of this he never lost what made him great.
Greatness and fame are too often conflated. The former should be accessible independently of the latter.
Yeah this is Bob's first record contract, made with Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd of Studio One and co-signed by his aunt because he was under 21. I took it to Black Rock to argue with CBS' lawyers about the royalties they didn't want to pay (they paid).
Matrix founding creators are behind "one of 10 of the best (radios) around the world", per The Guardian.
Salvador is our base. If you plan to visit Bahia, there are some things you should probably know and you should first visit:
www.salvadorbahiabrazil.com
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