Stanley Cowell

1941年誕生于美國爵士鋼琴手Stanley Cowell，是位古典演奏出身，轉(zhuǎn)入爵士領(lǐng)域后大獲成功的樂手。鋼琴師承Mary Shealy、Elmer Gertz，另有J· Harold Harder引領(lǐng)進(jìn)入管風(fēng)琴演奏世界，并曾擔(dān)任教堂管風(fēng)琴手、教堂合唱指揮之職。演奏極富張力，從精巧的三重奏到大樂團(tuán)均能隨心所欲，暢演無礙。除卻巡回演奏外，Stanley Cowell也同時任教于Rutgers音樂院，以期在教學(xué)相長之下，激蕩出更豐富的音樂內(nèi)涵。1972年Stanley Cowell Trio在ECM錄的專輯《Illusion Suite》被大多數(shù)樂迷推崇備至，可惜早已絕版。 　 　
Stanley Cowell與小號手Charles Tolliver在1971年于美國創(chuàng)立了Strata-East，以發(fā)行黑人爵士樂為主的唱片公司，對Spiritual Jazz樂風(fēng)貢獻(xiàn)良多。這里談?wù)摰腟piritual Jazz并不是指照字面解釋的廣義"靈性"爵士，而是揉合了非洲打擊樂、黑人歌聲、hard bop爵士樂的一種歸納性的風(fēng)格，因樂曲常帶有虔誠精神而以Spiritual稱之，從六零年代末期到七零年代晚期是其黃金年代。有些樂人加入Strata-East之后就像解脫了一般，創(chuàng)作得到更大的自由度，且受到廠牌同儕的影響，開始在創(chuàng)作中加入深層的精神探索，由于該廠獨(dú)具特色的爵士樂風(fēng)格，以及高制作水準(zhǔn)，在許多樂迷心中具有指針性的地位。
by Scott Yanow
An excellent modern, mainstream pianist who is adaptable to many acoustic jazz settings, Stanley Cowell has long been underrated except among knowing musicians. He studied the piano from the time he was four, and Art Tatum made an early impact. After attending Oberlin College Conservatory and the University of Michigan, Cowell (who had played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk while at Oberlin) moved to New York in 1966. He played regularly with Marion Brown (1966-1967), Max Roach (1967-1970), and the Bobby Hutcherson-Harold Land quintet (1968-1971). In the early 70s, Cowell worked in Music Inc. with Charles Tolliver, and they co-founded the label Strata East. He played regularly with the Heath Brothers during 1974-1983, and since 1981 has been a busy jazz educator. Cowell has recorded as a leader for Arista-Freedom (1969), ECM (1972), Strata East, Galaxy, Unisson, DIW, Concord, and SteepleChase.