Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Theo Croker’s Dream … Manifested!
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
Trumpeter Calvin Owens, former B.B. King band leader and arranger, died of kidney failure early Thursday morning. Owens was 78.
A native of Houston, Calvin “The Maestro” Owens’ recording credits included work as an artist and producer for Memphis’ Kiondict recording company, A&R director/studio musician for Peacock and as an arranger for A&M recording studios in Los Angeles.
Named after the area where he grew up near Sumpter, Texas, the Sawdust Alley Preservation Foundation, founded by Owens, was a non-profit organization dedicated to blues preservation.
Owens was a fixture at SugarHill Studios, beginning in the late 1940s with blues legend Lightnin’ Hopkins and in the early 1960s with singer Joe Hinton.
He returned to the studios in 1994 after more than a decade in Belgium to record parts of True Blue. Owens would record and mix another eight blues albums, two Spanish-language albums and one hip-hop album with chief engineer and friend, Andy Bradley.
Owens arranged two tracks and played on three tracks of the forthcoming Johnny Bush album, Young at Heart, featuring Willie Nelson and Ray Price.
Owens was heralded by many and worked with musicians spanning a myriad of genres. Among his recordings are tracks featuring Shelly Carrol, Otis Clay, Archie Bell, Arnett Cobb, B.B. King, Conrad Johnson, David “Fathead” Newman, Marvin Sparks, Keith Vivens, Barbara Lynn, Pete Mayes and Rue Davis.
To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
“There’s nothing quite like it,” Springs says of working with an orchestra. “It’s 60 people working in harmony in the moment. Singing with them is kind of empowering but also humbling at the same time.”
Jun 17, 2025 11:12 AM
When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.
Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
Galper was often regarded as an underrated master of his craft.
Jul 22, 2025 10:58 AM
Hal Galper, a pianist, composer and arranger who enjoyed a substantial performing career but made perhaps a deeper…
Chuck Mangione on the cover of the May 8, 1975, edition of DownBeat.
Jul 29, 2025 1:00 PM
Chuck Mangione, one of the most popular trumpeters in jazz history, passed away on July 24 at home in Rochester, New…
