Ralph Bowen

Bowen, Ralph

Ralph Bowen. Saxophonist, flutist, composer, b Guelph, Ont, 24 Dec 1961; B Mus (Rutgers) 1989. He studied with Pat LaBarbera first at the Banff Jazz Workshop in 1978, then privately in Toronto until 1983. After working 1981-4 in Toronto with Reg Schwager, Rick Tait, Ted Moses, Keith Blackley, Ron Collier and Manteca, he undertook further study at Indiana State U, Ind, with Dave Baker, and at Rutgers U, NJ. While at Indiana State U, he was chosen in 1985 by Blue Note Records (New York) to play in a new sextet, Out of the Blue (familiarly, OTB). He subsequently performed throughout the USA, in Europe and in Japan with OTB, and in 1988 also began touring internationally with the noted pianist Horace Silver.

Bowen, a naturally idiomatic tenorman, technically adroit and harmonically advanced in the assertive, hard-bop style established by John Coltrane and Joe Henderson, has appeared on recordings by Manteca (Strength in Numbers), Renee Rosnes, the pianist Michel Camilo (On The Other Hand, 1990, CBS EK-46236) and on four albums for Blue Note by OTB: OTB (1985, BT-85118), Inside Track (1986, BT-85128), Live at Mt. Fuji (1986, BTC-85141) and Spiral Staircase (1989, B1-93006). OTB has recorded the Bowen compositions Reunited, Elevation, Inside Track and Gerri-Ann.