Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Ulysses Owens Jr. was born December 6, 1982 in Jacksonville, Florida and began playing the drums at the age of 3. He played many types of music in his younger years, centering on his experience in the church. By the time he was in his early teens, he realized that he would become a jazz musician and received a full scholarship to study at the Juilliard School, in its inaugural jazz program.
After graduating from Juilliard in 2006, Ulysses traveled the world as a jazz drummer. After hearing about Jacksonville’s high dropout rate and other problems with struggling youths, he and his family designed a program to help suspended youths stay in school.
Owens was vocalist Kurt Elling’s drummer on Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman, and on bassist Christian McBride’s The Good Feeling, both of which won Grammy Award. He has also played and recorded with pianist Joey Alexander, Gregory Porter and Matthew Whitaker. His composition The Simplicity of Life was commissioned by the string quartet ETHEL for their multimedia show ETHEL’s Documerica.
Drummer and percussionist Ulysses Owens Jr., who is co-founder and artistic director of the charity, Don’t Miss A Beat, continues to perform and compose.
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GEORGE V. JOHNSON ~ CD RELEASE PARTY
CD Release ~ Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit
George V. Johnson, vocals
Donvonte McCoy, trumpet
Elijah Easton, saxophone
Deante Childers, piano
Steve Arnold, bass
Dana Hawkins, drums
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ANTONIO PARKER & FRIENDS
Antonio Parker, saxophone
Reginald Cyntje, trombone
Hope Udobi, piano
Cheney Thomas, bass
Keith Killgo, drums
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BOBBY FELDER ~ CHRISTMAS JAZZ GALA
Bobby Felder, trombone
Herb Scott, alto saxophone
Ben Sands, tenor saxophone
Michael Thomas, trumpet
Jon Ozment, piano
Wes Biles, bass
David Cole, guitar
Greg Holloway, drums
Bradley Thomas, Gail Shipp, Tya Ade, Dick Smith, vocals
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Kansas Fields was born Carl Donnell Fields on December 5, 1915 in Chapman, Kansas and first played in Chicago, Illinois from the late Twenties and worked with King Kolax and Jimmie Noone in the 1930s. In 1940 he joined Roy Eldridge’s group for a year and returned to play with Eldridge again later in the decade.
He briefly led his own ensemble and played with Ella Fitzgerald and Benny Carter before joining the Marines during World War II. After the war, Kansas played with Cab Calloway, Claude Hopkins, Sidney Bechet, Dizzy Gillespie, and Eldridge again before the close of the decade.
Forming another group early in the 1950s, he then played with Mezz Mezzrow in Europe in 1953. Fields stayed in Europe for more than a decade, relocating to France where he worked as a sideman. In 1965, he returned to Chicago, working once more with Gillespie and doing studio work.
Drummer and bandleader Kansas Fields transitioned on March 7, 1995 in Chicago.
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