1941年诞生于美国爵士钢琴手Stanley Cowell,是位古典演奏出身,转入爵士领域后大获成功的乐手。钢琴师承Mary Shealy、Elmer Gertz,另有J· Harold Harder引领进入管风琴演奏世界,并曾担任教堂管风琴手、教堂合唱指挥之职。演奏极富张力,从精巧的三重奏到大乐团均能随心所欲,畅演无碍。除却巡回演奏外,Stanley Cowell也同时任教于Rutgers音乐院,以期在教学相长之下,激荡出更丰富的音乐内涵。1972年Stanley Cowell Trio在ECM录的专辑《Illusion Suite》被大多数乐迷推崇备至,可惜早已绝版。
Stanley Cowell与小号手Charles Tolliver在1971年于美国创立了Strata-East,以发行黑人爵士乐为主的唱片公司,对Spiritual Jazz乐风贡献良多。这里谈论的Spiritual Jazz并不是指照字面解释的广义"灵性"爵士,而是揉合了非洲打击乐、黑人歌声、hard bop爵士乐的一种归纳性的风格,因乐曲常带有虔诚精神而以Spiritual称之,从六零年代末期到七零年代晚期是其黄金年代。有些乐人加入Strata-East之后就像解脱了一般,创作得到更大的自由度,且受到厂牌同侪的影响,开始在创作中加入深层的精神探索,由于该厂独具特色的爵士乐风格,以及高制作水准,在许多乐迷心中具有指针性的地位。
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.