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Dennis Rowland - Vocals |
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Dennis Rowland is still best known for his association with the Count Basie Orchestra but he has been working hard in recent years in building up his solo career. He remembers hearing Joe Williams' "Every Day" with Count Basie on record regularly when he was five or six and it made a strong impression. Rowland worked as both an actor and a singer locally for a few years in the mid-1970's. The young singer was in Williams' spot during the last seven years (1977-84) of Basie's life, touring the world with the classic orchestra. After that period ended, Rowland worked as an actor on stage, settled in Phoenix, Arizona and began recording as a leader for Concord in 1995. Trying to branch beyond the swing/blues/standards repertoire, Rowland's second (Get Here) Concord album had some R&B-ish numbers and selections open to the influences of pop and funk. His main strength, however, rests with his swinging style and appealing voice, which is best, displayed on his third Concord disc, a tribute to Miles Davis (Now Dig This). Bringing with him the stage performers ability to convey intimacy in even the most immense of settings, singer Dennis Rowland cannily pulls off an inspired homage to the ultimate larger than life jazz musician, Miles Davis. Dennis Rowland's latest Concord Jazz CD Now Dig This (CCD-4751-2) is a loving vocal tribute to the melodically warm, yet emotionally cool recorded work of the 50's and early 60's Miles. For this session, Dennis has assembled a "dream team" of co-conspirators: pianist Joe Sample, trumpeters Wallace Roney and Sal Marquez, tenor saxophonist Terry Harrington, drummer/producer Gregg Field, and bassist Chuck Berghofer. Together they evoke Miles' spirit on such tunes as "All Blues," "'Round Midnight," "I Could Write A Book," and "You Don't Know What Love Is." Yet Dennis Rowland's rich baritone, steeped in jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues as well as a charisma attained through his extensive stage experience makes Now Dig This an unmistakably vocal vocal recording. Born and raised amid the musically vital surroundings of Detroit, Michigan, Dennis Rowland was raised on a diet of Duke Ellington, Joe Williams, Handel's Messiah, and everything in between. Certainly his exposure to Broadway and film scores via his parents' record collection contributed somewhat to Rowland's stage confidence and effective communication with audiences. Perhaps Dennis Rowland's most valuable education came when he spent seven years with one of the greatest big bands of all time. From 1977 to 1984 he toured the world as the featured vocalist with the count Basie Orchestra, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and Tony Bennett. Dennis' smooth, powerful voice also graces two tunes on Basie's 1980 Grammy winning album On The Road. Dennis Rowland's second passion is for the theatrical stage. Since the mid-eighties, he has appeared in a variety of productions ranging from "The Seven Deadly Sins (with Cleo Laine), "Jesus Christ Superstar," Big River", and "Little Shop Of Horrors," to a project titled "Blues In The Night" which featured an Ida Cox composition "Wild Women (Don't Get The Blues) that was featured on Dennis' first Concord release Rhyme Rhythm & Reason (CCD-4650) and has become one of the more memorable numbers in Rowland's in-concert repertoire. Rowland's second Concord release was for their Concord Vista imprint. Titled Get Here, the album was stylistically diverse, touching on elements of jazz, blues, R&B and soul, all the while sounding unmistakably Dennis Rowland. In addition to his three dates as a leader for Concord, Dennis Rowland can be heard on Concord's holiday recording A Concord Jazz Christmas, Volume 2, and the highly touted Jazz Celebration:A Tribute To Carl Jefferson. In April 1997, Dennis was invited by Wynton Marsalis to perform with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra for "Swingin' The Blues For Count Basie." Dennis' performance was met with raucous audience approval, inspiring New York Times writer Peter Watrous to exclaim, "He's a spectacular blues singer...It was most honest and liberating; what Mr. Rowland dispenses should be sold in drugstores." Europe is equally enthusiastic about Dennis, as evidenced by two critically acclaimed, sold out engagements at London's famed Pizza On The Park and another in Paris at La Villa. As Now Dig This hits the streets Dennis will be touring with Count Basie alumnus, tenor saxophonist Frank Foster's Loud Minority Big Band. Busy in the recording studio, Dennis is spotlighted as a guest artist on Joe Samples upcoming CD, Rainbow Seekers 11, to be released this summer. Now Dig This makes great strides toward solidifying Dennis Rowland's growing reputation as one of the premier vocalists of our day. With a talent as diverse and emotionally rich as Dennis', the years should see him placed alongside the greats of our time.
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This event is produced by Yehoodi.com, Jelly Roll Productions and CU Swing with the support of the William J. Basie Trust. |
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