Owl Studios
Encyclopedia
Owl Studios is an independent record label, started in 2005 by J. Allan Hall, that concentrates on jazz
, R&B, and jam band
genres. It is based in Indianapolis, Indiana
and operates from its downtown offices on Monument Circle.
, soulful vocalist Cynthia Layne
, trumpet player Derrick Gardner
, pianist and composer Steve Allee
, clarinet and saxophonist Frank Glover
, and the Busselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra. By the end of its first two years of operation, Owl Studios had more than a dozen releases under its belt, and it continues this high productivity today.
and his jam band project Garaj Mahal
, Chicago trumpet player Pharez Whitted
, as well as New York City groups Bill Moring & Way Out East
, and the Rick Germanson Trio
, among others.
In January 2010, Owl Studios artist Derrick Gardner & The Jazz Prophets
won the Independent Music Award for their album Echoes of Ethnicity. Later in that same year, the label signed Headhunters
and Brand X
drummer Mike Clark
and released his album Carnival of Soul, which was nominated for the best jazz album award itself the next year.
Shortly thereafter, Owl Studios signed Mike Clark's original band, jazz/funk ensemble The Headhunters
, whose album Head Hunters
with Herbie Hancock was the only jazz album ever to achieve platinum status in the United States, to its roster in 2010. The group releases its Owl Studios debut Platinum on June 14, 2011.
and The Headhunters
, who commonly feature rap, hip hop, and funk artists, such as Snoop Dogg
, George Clinton
, Killah Priest
, and Indianapolis rapper Jaecyn Bayne in their music in efforts to renew and revive jazz to a younger generation of fans.
from the American Pianists Association and took ownership of the annual festival, transforming it into a non-profit organization and using it as a vehicle to promote jazz music and education in Indianapolis.
In 2010, Owl Studios started the Emerging Jazz Artist Project, giving the opportunity to young jazz artists to have a professionally recorded, distributed, and promoted album under the Owl Studios moniker. The first Emerging Jazz Artist, selected from countless applicants was the Jeff McLaughlin Quartet, whose album Blocks was released on July 12, 2011.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, R&B, and jam band
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
genres. It is based in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
and operates from its downtown offices on Monument Circle.
Formation
Owl Studios was founded in 2005 as an unconventionally "artist friendly" label focusing on a much more generous profit sharing business plan than typical record labels offer. Founder J. Allan Hall said, "We are approaching the recording business from a rather non-conventional direction. I do not see us as competing in the same arena as the big guys.... A few unique aspects to our business approach make working with Owl Studios a unique and interesting opportunity."Initial Signings
Owl Studios announced its arrival with the signing of six of Indianapolis' most notable jazz musicians and groups: tenor saxophonist Rob DixonRob Dixon
Rob Dixon is an American jazz saxophonist.A native of Atlanta, Dixon went to school at Indiana University where he came under the influence of the renowned jazz educator David Baker...
, soulful vocalist Cynthia Layne
Cynthia Layne
Cynthia Layne is an American contemporary jazz vocalist. Layne describes her music as "soothing to the soul...a mix of groove based R&B with strong jazz undertones."...
, trumpet player Derrick Gardner
Derrick Gardner
Derrick Gardner is an American jazz trumpeter from Chicago, Illinois.Gardner began playing trumpet at age 9 in his hometown of Chicago, IL...
, pianist and composer Steve Allee
Steve Allee
Steve Allee is an American jazz musician and composer.Allee attended Ben Davis High Schoolin Indianapolis, Indiana. Allee was in a band during the early 1970s called the Baron Von Ohlen Quartet which self-released an album of the same name...
, clarinet and saxophonist Frank Glover
Frank Glover
Frank Glover is a contemporary jazz musician and composer from Indianapolis, Indiana. Although he plays saxophone as well, Glover's primary instrument is the clarinet.* Mosaic * Something Old, Something New * Siamese Twins ...
, and the Busselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra. By the end of its first two years of operation, Owl Studios had more than a dozen releases under its belt, and it continues this high productivity today.
Expansion
After the success of the label's initial group of artists, Owl Studios began to branch out to sign artists from outside the Indianapolis area, including Chicago guitar virtuoso Fareed HaqueFareed Haque
Fareed Haque is a fusion guitar virtuoso of Pakistani and Chilean descent.Raised in Chicago, he studied at North Texas State University and Northwestern University....
and his jam band project Garaj Mahal
Garaj Mahal
Garaj Mahal is a four piece band, based in the United States, playing a fusion of jazz, Indian music, rock, and especially funk: Kai Eckhardt , Fareed Haque , Alan Hertz , Sean Rickman and Eric Levy...
, Chicago trumpet player Pharez Whitted
Pharez Whitted
-Biography:Since 1982, Whitted has performed throughout the United States and overseas, including gigs at the 1988 Presidential Inauguration, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Billboard Music Awards, Carnegie Hall, and the MoTown Music Showcase....
, as well as New York City groups Bill Moring & Way Out East
Bill Moring
Bill Moring is an American jazz bassist.Bill Moring was born in 1958 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After attending Indiana State University for a year, Moring began touring with jazz groups through Indianapolis and Cincinnati and working with acclaimed jazz musicians such as Claude Sifferlen and Steve...
, and the Rick Germanson Trio
Rick Germanson
Rick Germanson is an American jazz pianist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Germanson started playing piano at a young age and grew up playing in the Milwaukee jazz scene...
, among others.
In January 2010, Owl Studios artist Derrick Gardner & The Jazz Prophets
Derrick Gardner
Derrick Gardner is an American jazz trumpeter from Chicago, Illinois.Gardner began playing trumpet at age 9 in his hometown of Chicago, IL...
won the Independent Music Award for their album Echoes of Ethnicity. Later in that same year, the label signed Headhunters
The Headhunters
The Headhunters are an American jazz-funk fusion band, best known for their albums they recorded as a backing band of jazz keyboard player Herbie Hancock during the 1970s. Hancock's debut album with the group, Head Hunters, is one of the best-selling jazz/fusion records of all time.-History:Herbie...
and Brand X
Brand X
Brand X was a jazz fusion band active between 1975–1980 and 1992-1999. Noted members included Phil Collins , Percy Jones , John Goodsall and Robin Lumley ....
drummer Mike Clark
Mike Clark (musician)
Mike Clark is an American jazz and funk drummer who is most noted for playing in the Headhunters band headed up by Herbie Hancock in the mid-1970s. Clark's performance on Hancock's album Thrust, and particularly the song "Actual Proof," is often cited as one of the finest examples of the linear...
and released his album Carnival of Soul, which was nominated for the best jazz album award itself the next year.
Shortly thereafter, Owl Studios signed Mike Clark's original band, jazz/funk ensemble The Headhunters
The Headhunters
The Headhunters are an American jazz-funk fusion band, best known for their albums they recorded as a backing band of jazz keyboard player Herbie Hancock during the 1970s. Hancock's debut album with the group, Head Hunters, is one of the best-selling jazz/fusion records of all time.-History:Herbie...
, whose album Head Hunters
Head Hunters
Head Hunters is the twelfth studio album by American jazz musician Herbie Hancock, released October 13, 1973, on Columbia Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place during September 1973 at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur Trading Co. in San Francisco, California...
with Herbie Hancock was the only jazz album ever to achieve platinum status in the United States, to its roster in 2010. The group releases its Owl Studios debut Platinum on June 14, 2011.
The "Owl Studios Sound"
The label's website has featured the mission statement, "Owl Studios is about expanding the elements of jazz to create a new sound, an Owl Studios sound. So what makes an Owl Studios sound? We mix jazz, groove, funk, soul....this goes on." While this newer urban-fusion sound is not represented by every artist on the Owl Studios roster, it is exemplified by artists such as Rob DixonRob Dixon
Rob Dixon is an American jazz saxophonist.A native of Atlanta, Dixon went to school at Indiana University where he came under the influence of the renowned jazz educator David Baker...
and The Headhunters
The Headhunters
The Headhunters are an American jazz-funk fusion band, best known for their albums they recorded as a backing band of jazz keyboard player Herbie Hancock during the 1970s. Hancock's debut album with the group, Head Hunters, is one of the best-selling jazz/fusion records of all time.-History:Herbie...
, who commonly feature rap, hip hop, and funk artists, such as Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, George Clinton
George Clinton (musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, Killah Priest
Killah Priest
Walter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious...
, and Indianapolis rapper Jaecyn Bayne in their music in efforts to renew and revive jazz to a younger generation of fans.
Other Projects
In 2009 members of Owl Studios management purchased the rights to the Indy Jazz FestIndy Jazz Fest
The Indy Jazz Fest is an annual jazz festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. It first took place on June 17, 1999. It was created by a consortium of Downtown Indianapolis hospitality, civic and business interests as a way to spotlight Indianapolis' rich jazz heritage through an annual event...
from the American Pianists Association and took ownership of the annual festival, transforming it into a non-profit organization and using it as a vehicle to promote jazz music and education in Indianapolis.
In 2010, Owl Studios started the Emerging Jazz Artist Project, giving the opportunity to young jazz artists to have a professionally recorded, distributed, and promoted album under the Owl Studios moniker. The first Emerging Jazz Artist, selected from countless applicants was the Jeff McLaughlin Quartet, whose album Blocks was released on July 12, 2011.
Current Artist Roster
- Steve Allee TrioSteve AlleeSteve Allee is an American jazz musician and composer.Allee attended Ben Davis High Schoolin Indianapolis, Indiana. Allee was in a band during the early 1970s called the Baron Von Ohlen Quartet which self-released an album of the same name...
- Busselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra
- Mike Clark
- Rob Dixon & Trilogy +1Rob DixonRob Dixon is an American jazz saxophonist.A native of Atlanta, Dixon went to school at Indiana University where he came under the influence of the renowned jazz educator David Baker...
- The Dixon-Rhyne ProjectThe Dixon-Rhyne Project-Formation:The Dixon-Rhyne Project was formed in 2007 when tenor saxophonist Rob Dixon approached organist Melvin Rhyne, of Wes Montgomery Trio fame, about forming a boundary-pushing jazz jam band...
- The HeadhuntersThe HeadhuntersThe Headhunters are an American jazz-funk fusion band, best known for their albums they recorded as a backing band of jazz keyboard player Herbie Hancock during the 1970s. Hancock's debut album with the group, Head Hunters, is one of the best-selling jazz/fusion records of all time.-History:Herbie...
- Garaj MahalGaraj MahalGaraj Mahal is a four piece band, based in the United States, playing a fusion of jazz, Indian music, rock, and especially funk: Kai Eckhardt , Fareed Haque , Alan Hertz , Sean Rickman and Eric Levy...
- Derrick Gardner & The Jazz ProphetsDerrick GardnerDerrick Gardner is an American jazz trumpeter from Chicago, Illinois.Gardner began playing trumpet at age 9 in his hometown of Chicago, IL...
- Rick Germanson TrioRick GermansonRick Germanson is an American jazz pianist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Germanson started playing piano at a young age and grew up playing in the Milwaukee jazz scene...
- Frank GloverFrank GloverFrank Glover is a contemporary jazz musician and composer from Indianapolis, Indiana. Although he plays saxophone as well, Glover's primary instrument is the clarinet.* Mosaic * Something Old, Something New * Siamese Twins ...
- Fareed Haque & the Flat Earth EnsembleFareed HaqueFareed Haque is a fusion guitar virtuoso of Pakistani and Chilean descent.Raised in Chicago, he studied at North Texas State University and Northwestern University....
- Todd Harrold
- Monika HerzigMonika HerzigMonika Herzig is a German-born pianist, composer and performing/recording artist. After receiving a scholarship in 1987 from the pedagogical institute in Weingarten, Germany for a one-year exchange program at the University of Alabama, she moved to the United States in August 1988...
- Cynthia LayneCynthia LayneCynthia Layne is an American contemporary jazz vocalist. Layne describes her music as "soothing to the soul...a mix of groove based R&B with strong jazz undertones."...
- Bill Moring & Way Out EastBill MoringBill Moring is an American jazz bassist.Bill Moring was born in 1958 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After attending Indiana State University for a year, Moring began touring with jazz groups through Indianapolis and Cincinnati and working with acclaimed jazz musicians such as Claude Sifferlen and Steve...
- The Twin Cats
- Pharez WhittedPharez Whitted-Biography:Since 1982, Whitted has performed throughout the United States and overseas, including gigs at the 1988 Presidential Inauguration, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Billboard Music Awards, Carnegie Hall, and the MoTown Music Showcase....