“An incredibly colorful portrait . . . . the voices of Jack Wilkins and LaRue Nickelson soaring throughout.”
Dave Liebman
“A tour de force in contemporary orchestral composition…
Rufus Reid
“Pure joyful sounds. Harmony that lives up to the word. Jazz has never sounded better.”
Bob Belden
“‘River Runs deep . . . .free-flowing into cross-currents, but always moving
forward towards it’s destination . . . . an Ocean of Melody, Sound and Soul.”
Randy Brecker
Composers Notes
There is little more conducive to an extended, free-flowing conversation than finding yourself floating leisurely down a sparkling river on a warm, sunny day. Nevertheless, I find one of the most desired attributes in a canoe or raft partner is the ability to sense intuitively when to maintain perfect silence and just let the sounds of the river speak for themselves. Wanting to accord the same respect to my listeners, I’m tempted to let “River Runs” simply speak for itself – knowing it will address each listener in a completely unique way and with much more eloquence than I am likely to muster here…..more
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News
Bob Seymour. longtime Jazz Program Director at WUSF-FM, conducted an extensive interview with Chuck in celebration of the release of River Runs on “All Night Jazz” airing the entire Concerto in the process! The 1:40 minutes show has been posted in its entirety on the WUSF website.
If you have yet to check out some of the Surge’s earlier recordings with such guests as: Nat Adderley, Benny Golson, John Abercrombie, Adam Nussbaum, Ingrid Jensen, Tim Hagans, and others; you can now purchase them as downloads on I-Tunes.
- Chuck Owen & the Jazz Surge (1996)
- Madcap (2001)
- Here We Are (2005)
The Florida Division of Cultural Affairs announced Chuck as one of two composers selected to receive the State’s Individual Artist Fellowship. This is the third time he has been honored with this award.
Chuck was honored and humbled to serve as the Chair of an extremely distinguished panel that helped select Kevin Puts’ Silent Nights: Opera in Two Acts as the recipient of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in Music.. A stirring opera that recounts the true story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, French and Germans during World War I, Puts’ work was commissioned and premiered by the Minnesota Opera. The panel included previous Pulitzer recipient, Jennifer Higdon; Carnegie Hall Director of Artistic Planning, Jeremy Geffen; Music Editor of Time Out New York, Steven Smith; and Jazz Pianist/Composer, Kenny Werner.
In a ceremony at the Lifsey House, Chuck was recognized as the USF Phi Kappa Phi “Artist Scholar of the Year”. In addition to accepting the award, Chuck gave a brief speech about his creative efforts and certain traits he had found valuable throughout his career.
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