Ken Fowser & Behn Gillece
With the inception of a unique group in 2006, and four albums now to their credit, Ken Fowser and Behn Gillece have become prominent voices within the vibrant young jazz scene. In addition to employing a rare and exciting front line of Fowser on tenor sax and Gillece on vibraphone, their backgrounds are equally as interesting.
With their latest album, Top Shelf, they add the great young trombonist Michael Dease to the group. This album, again, highlights the compositional skills of Fowser and Gillece with 10 new and exciting original songs. Completing the band is the impressive Steve Einerson on piano, the hard-working Dezron Douglas on bass, and the steady rhythms of Rodney Green on drums.
Fowser and Gillece’s collaborations go back to the 90’s, when they picked up work at local events as teenagers. Growing up outside of Philadelphia, they attended area schools and continued to perform during their college years at well known jazz clubs such as Chris’ Jazz Cafe and Ortlieb’s Jazz Haus. In 2006, they ended up moving to New York to attend graduate school at State University of New York, Purchase College. Through this experience, they expanded their repertoire and began to perform their original music, giving way to a group that has blossomed to the present.
In recent years, Fowser and Gillece performed at many of the top venues in the U.S. including Yoshi’s in San Francisco, Smoke in NYC, Black Eyed Sally’s in Hartford, Chris’s Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, and at Smalls Jazz Club in NYC.
Their recorded history began in January 2009, when they released their first album, Full View (2009, Posi-Tone), a quintet record that includes the great pianist David Hazeltine. This record was a great success, and was the beginning of much press and radio airplay.
Their second release, titled Little Echo (2010, Posi-Tone), featured some of New York’s finest, including Rick Germanson on piano, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, and Quincy Davis on drums. For their next album, DuoTone (2011, Posi-Tone), the boys served up another fresh batch of original tunes with their quintet featuring pianist Donald Vega, bassist David Wong, and drummer Willie Jones III. While continuing to push their compositional skills, they continue to evolve as world class jazz musicians.
In all of their albums, the music Fowser and Gillece make is modern and fresh, while also remaining delightfully reminiscent of the classic jazz sound.
With the inception of a unique group in 2006, and four albums now to their credit, Ken Fowser and Behn Gillece have become prominent voices within the vibrant young jazz scene. In addition to employing a rare and exciting front line of Fowser on tenor sax and Gillece on vibraphone, their backgrounds are equally as interesting.
With their latest album, Top Shelf, they add the great young trombonist Michael Dease to the group. This album, again, highlights the compositional skills of Fowser and Gillece with 10 new and exciting original songs. Completing the band is the impressive Steve Einerson on piano, the hard-working Dezron Douglas on bass, and the steady rhythms of Rodney Green on drums.
Fowser and Gillece’s collaborations go back to the 90’s, when they picked up work at local events as teenagers. Growing up outside of Philadelphia, they attended area schools and continued to perform during their college years at well known jazz clubs such as Chris’ Jazz Cafe and Ortlieb’s Jazz Haus. In 2006, they ended up moving to New York to attend graduate school at State University of New York, Purchase College. Through this experience, they expanded their repertoire and began to perform their original music, giving way to a group that has blossomed to the present.
In recent years, Fowser and Gillece performed at many of the top venues in the U.S. including Yoshi’s in San Francisco, Smoke in NYC, Black Eyed Sally’s in Hartford, Chris’s Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, and at Smalls Jazz Club in NYC.
Their recorded history began in January 2009, when they released their first album, Full View (2009, Posi-Tone), a quintet record that includes the great pianist David Hazeltine. This record was a great success, and was the beginning of much press and radio airplay.
Their second release, titled Little Echo (2010, Posi-Tone), featured some of New York’s finest, including Rick Germanson on piano, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, and Quincy Davis on drums. For their next album, DuoTone (2011, Posi-Tone), the boys served up another fresh batch of original tunes with their quintet featuring pianist Donald Vega, bassist David Wong, and drummer Willie Jones III. While continuing to push their compositional skills, they continue to evolve as world class jazz musicians.
In all of their albums, the music Fowser and Gillece make is modern and fresh, while also remaining delightfully reminiscent of the classic jazz sound.