Calvin Owens

Calvin Owens (April 23, 1929 – February 21, 2008) was an American blues trumpeter, bandleader, and composer/arranger.[1] Owens grew up in Houston's Fifth Ward neighborhood and was influenced by Louis Armstrong.[2] At various times, Owens worked alongside B.B. King, Pete Mayes, T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn, David "Fathead" Newman, Arnett Cobb, Junior Parker, Otis Turner, Willie Nelson and Johnny Bush.[3]

Early life and career

The son of Blanche Ware and adopted father Sam Owens; Owen's mother, who was from New Orleans, related to Calvin her memories of Louis Armstrong playing in the jazz city when she was a young teenager. Having become fascinated with the instrument, Owens worked odd jobs and saved enough money to buy his first instrument at the age of 13.[2]

Owens graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School in 1949 but had, by that time, already started playing professionally.[4]

Collaborations with B.B. King and others

Having played professionally in Houston, including at the Eldorado from 1950 to 1953 as well as being the audio and recording director for Peacock Records, Owens was hired by B. B. King in two periods — from 1953 until 1957 and later from 1978 to 1984.[2] During his long career, Owens variously worked alongside Pete Mayes, T-Bone Walker, Amos Milburn, David "Fathead" Newman, Arnett Cobb, Junior Parker, Otis Turner, Willie Nelson and Johnny Bush.[3]

“The Maestro”: Owens' arranging and conducting talents have been on the MERV GRIFFIN SHOW, JACK JONES SHOW, AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, and the TONIGHT SHOW. He recently recorded 6 original compositions for the BELGIAN RADIO & TELEVISION with the BRT Jazz Orchestra. He was a performing artist and producer for Memphis TN's Kiondict Recording Company; A & R director and studio musician for Peacock Recording Company of Houston, Texas; Arranger for A & M recording studios in L.A. California; and numerous albums include: "Stop Lying in My Face," "True Blue," "Another Concept" "The House is Burning," "The Calvin Owens Show" and more. Experience his amazing command of the coronet on his "Lick or Split" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcl8qoYY8uA

Calvin was the arranger, conductor and trumpet soloist on several B.B. King's albums, including “Live in Ole Miss”, B.B. King's “Live in London”-with Owens conducting the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra of London—and B.B. King's 1984 Grammy Award-winning album “Jazz n' Blues.” See a live performance of Calvin's Orchestra in the MoShows.com video compilation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k49iZ84PERo

Owens' arranging and conducting talents have been on the MERV GRIFFIN SHOW, JACK JONES SHOW, AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, and the TONIGHT SHOW. He recently recorded 6 original compositions for the BELGIAN RADIO & TELEVISION with the BRT Jazz Orchestra. See an impressive number of his videos here.

"UP FROM SAWDUST ALLEY": A MoShows.com college lecture tour wherein Calvin Owens chronicles what it was like growing up in "the bottom" breathing the dust of Sawdust Alley—a low income neighborhood near a sawmill in Houston, Texas—to the razor sharp heights of experiences acquired gracing the greatest concert halls and music festivals in the world. Included are personal experiences with some of the world's greatest musicians as orchestra conductor, music director and trumpet soloist for B.B. KING.

Death

Sometimes known as the Maestro, Owens died on February 21, 2008, from renal failure, at the age of 78.[3]

References
  1. Skelly, Richard. "Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-11-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Blues (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 286. ISBN 0-85112-673-1.
  3. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2008 January to June". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  4. Govenar, Alan (2008). Texas Blues: The Rise of a Contemporary Sound. Texas A&M University Press. p. 274. ISBN 9781585446056.
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