Lester Bowie | |
|---|---|
 Bowie performing in the mid-1990s | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1941-10-11)October 11, 1941 Frederick, Maryland, U.S. |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | November 8, 1999(1999-11-08) (aged 58) |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1965–1999 |
| Labels | |
Lester Bowie (October 11, 1941 – November 8, 1999)[1] was an Americanjazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of theAssociation for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded theArt Ensemble of Chicago.[2]
Born in the historic village ofBartonsville inFrederick County, Maryland, United States, Bowie grew up inSt Louis, Missouri.[2] At the age of five, he started studying the trumpet with his father, a professional musician. He played withblues musicians such asLittle Milton andAlbert King, andrhythm and blues stars such asSolomon Burke,Joe Tex, andRufus Thomas. In 1965, he becameFontella Bass's musical director and husband.[3] He was a co-founder ofBlack Artists Group (BAG) in St Louis.
In 1966, he moved to Chicago, where he worked as a studio musician, and metMuhal Richard Abrams andRoscoe Mitchell and became a member of theAACM.[4] In 1968, he founded theArt Ensemble of Chicago[2] with Mitchell,Joseph Jarman, andMalachi Favors. He remained a member of this group for the rest of his life, and was also a member ofJack DeJohnette'sNew Directions quartet. He lived and worked in Jamaica and Nigeria, and played and recorded withFela Kuti.[1] Bowie's onstage appearance, in a white lab coat, with his goatee waxed into two points, was an important part of the Art Ensemble's stage show.
In 1984, he formed Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy, a brass nonet in which Bowie demonstrated jazz's links to other forms of popular music, a decidedly more populist approach than that of the Art Ensemble. With this group he recorded songs previously associated withWhitney Houston,Michael Jackson, andMarilyn Manson, along with other material. His New York Organ Ensemble featuredJames Carter andAmina Claudine Myers. In the mid-1980s, he was also part of the jazz supergroup The Leaders, which included tenor saxophonistChico Freeman, alto saxophonistArthur Blythe, drummerFamoudou Don Moye, pianistKirk Lightsey, and bassistCecil McBee. In 1991, Bowie recorded the opening theme for the eighth and final season of the television seriesThe Cosby Show.
Although seen as part of theavant-garde, Bowie embraced techniques from the whole history of jazz trumpet, filling his music with humoroussmears, blats,growls, half-valve effects, and so on. His affinity forreggae andska is exemplified by his composition "Ska Reggae Hi-Bop", which he performed with theSkatalites on their 1994Hi-Bop Ska, and also withJames Carter onConversin' with the Elders. He also appeared on the 1994Red Hot Organization's compilation album,Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, which was produced to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African-American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" byTime.
In 1993, he played on theDavid Bowie albumBlack Tie White Noise, including the song "Looking for Lester", which was named after him.[5] (Lester and David Bowie are not related—David Bowie's birth name was David Jones.)
Bowie took an adventurous and humorous approach to music,[5] and criticizedWynton Marsalis for his conservative approach to jazz tradition.[citation needed]
Bowie died ofliver cancer in 1999 at hisClinton Hill, Brooklyn, New York house he shared with second wife Deborah for 20 years.[1] The following year, he was inducted into theDown Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.[6] In 2001, the Art Ensemble of Chicago recordedTribute to Lester. In 2020, Bowie was featured in a mural painted byRafael Blanco in his hometown of Frederick, Maryland.
| Title | Year | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers 1 & 2 | 1967 | Nessa | ||
| Gittin' to Know Y'All (features Bowie conducting the Baden-Baden Free Jazz Orchestra) | 1970 | MPS | ||
| Fast Last! | 1974 | Muse | ||
| Rope-A-Dope | 1976 | Muse | ||
| African Children | 1978 | Horo | ||
| Duet (withPhillip Wilson) | 1978 | Improvising Artists | ||
| The 5th Power | 1978 | Black Saint | ||
| The Great Pretender | 1981 | ECM | ||
| All the Magic | 1983 | ECM | ||
| Bugle Boy Bop (with Charles "Bobo" Shaw) | 1983 | Muse | ||
| Duet (with Nobuyoshi Ino) | 1985 | Paddle Wheel |
| Title | Year | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Only Have Eyes for You | 1985 | ECM | ||
| Avant Pop | 1986 | ECM | ||
| Twilight Dreams | 1987 | Venture | ||
| Serious Fun | 1989 | DIW | ||
| My Way | 1990 | DIW | ||
| Live at the 6th Tokyo Music Joy (with the Art Ensemble Of Chicago) | 1990 | DIW | ||
| The Fire This Time | 1992 | In & Out | ||
| The Odyssey Of Funk & Popular Music | 1999 | Atlantic | ||
| When the Spirit Returns | 2000 (recorded Oct. 1997) | Birdology |
| Title | Year | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Organizer | 1991 | DIW | ||
| Funky T. Cool T. | 1992 | DIW |
WithDavid Bowie
WithJames Carter
WithJack DeJohnette
WithMelvin Jackson
WithFela Kuti
WithFrank Lowe
WithJimmy Lyons
WithRoscoe Mitchell
WithDavid Murray
WithSunny Murray
WithArchie Shepp
WithAlan Silva
WithWadada Leo Smith
With others
