Bruce Fowler - 1993 - Entropy

Bruce Fowler

1993

Entropy

01. Canon de Chelly (6:12)

02. Flames (4:24)

03. Love Dreams (4:54)

04. The Rat (5:44)

05. Entropy (3:39)

06. Seven Steps To Heaven (4:23)

07. Man's Epitaph (5:34)

08. Floatin' (6:58)

09. A Bash Fit For A King (5:57)

10. Bullin' (5:38)

Bruce Fowler / trombone, the spoken word

Steve Fowler / alto sax, flute

Tom Fowler / acoustic bass, violin

Walt Fowler / trumpet, flugelhorn

Chester Thompson / drums

Billy Childs / piano

Kei Akagi / piano

Kurt McGettrick / baritine sax, contrabass clarinet

Phil Teele / bass trombone

Suzette Moriarty / french horn

Albert Wing / tenor sax

Of all the Fowler brothers, trombonist Bruce may be the most talented. Aside from the many Zappa albums he has appeared on, I have seen and heard him with many other jazz groups, and he always plays spectacularly.

This album, under Bruce's name, has essentially the same musicians as most of the Fowler's albums: four of the five brothers, Bruce (of course), Tom, Walt, and Steve (Ed must have been busy), along with fellow Zappa alumni Albert Wing, Kurt McGettrick and Chester Thompson, plus a few other guests.

The music, while mostly big band be-bop, does have some hints fusion as well. While using acoustic instruments, the music is innovative enough to please this fusion fanatic. The opener, Canon De Chelly has a sound that reminds me of some of Michael Mantler or Carla Bley's pieces. The Rat, with some funny vocals spoken by Bruce, is a quirky lumbering piece, driven by brother Tom's cool acoustic bass. Bullin' is another high point, a rousing large ensemble piece. All the songs have fantastic solos, mostly Bruce's trombone, but Walt's trumpet adds some highlights as well.

Special mention needs to be made for a cover of Miles Davis' Seven Steps To Heaven, where Bruce replaces Miles' trumpet with some burning trombone licks.

Bruce Fowler - 1990 - Ants Can Count

Bruce Fowler

1990 

Ants Can Count

01. Mountain Mist 8:57

02. Ants Can Count 10:18

03. 3 M0D2=1 2:57

04. Ode To Stravinsky And The American Indians 4:29

05. Winter In Maine 5:45

06. One Man One Bone 4:57

07. Something Big 4:24

08. Duet For Flute And Trombone 6:27

09. Duet For French Horn And Trombone 4:00

10. Downriver 10:16

11. Let's Hope 2:20

Bass – Tom Fowler

Bass Trombone – Phil Teele

Drums – Billy Mintz, Chester Thompson, Clark Woodard

Flute, Alto Saxophone – Steve Fowler

French Horn – Suzette Moriarty

Percussion – Ed Mann

Piano, Bass – Ed Fowler

Trombone – Bruce Fowler

Trumpet – Walt Fowler

Although trombonist Bruce Fowler and his many brothers all have a strong sense of humor, this set is actually fairly somber much of the time. Fowler utilizes different instrumentation on each of his originals and some of the pieces are almost completely written out, while a couple others are more freely improvised. The music falls between jazz and modern classical music, with a wide variety of intriguing tone colors and unusual combinations of instruments. For example, "Mountain Mist" and "Something Big" have four brass instruments, flute, drums, and percussion. Fowler overdubbed himself on a few trombones for "Ode to Stravinsky and the American Indians" and is heard all alone on "One Man One Bone." There are duets by Fowler with flute and French horn, a feature for a brass quartet on "Let's Hope," and a few numbers with more conventional instrumentations. This set would have been uplifted if it had utilized more of Fowler's wit, but what is here does hold one's interest.

Tom Fowler - 1992 - Heartscapes

Tom Fowler

1992

Heartscapes

01. Coffee Shop 5:36

02. Merely To Love You 4:30

03. Arigato Daijobu 4:10

04. Jimmy 4:56

05. She Looks Like A Girl 5:09

06. Angel Face 3:58

07. Burn You With Cold 4:17

08. Languished On The Line 5:03

Alto Saxophone – Steve Fowler (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8)

Backing Vocals – Alec Milstein (tracks: 8)

Backing Vocals – Amy Keyes (tracks: 7)

Backing Vocals – Bob Fernandez (tracks: 7)

Backing Vocals – Cathy Wyatt (tracks: 7)

Backing Vocals – Jaime Troy (tracks: 7)

Backing Vocals – Joy Fowler (tracks: 7)

Backing Vocals – Margie Balter (tracks: 7)

Bass Trombone – Phil Teele (tracks: 1, 5, 8)

Double Bass – Tom Fowler (tracks: 1, 6)

Drums – Chester Thompson (tracks: 2)

Drums – Gary Novak (tracks: 1)

Drums – Ralph Humphrey (tracks: 4)

Drums – Ray Brinker (tracks: 3, 5 to 7)

Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta (tracks: 8)

Effects – Alex Wurman (tracks: 7)

Electric Bass – Tom Fowler (tracks: 2 to 5, 7, 8)

Flute – Steve Fowler (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8)

Guitar – Michael O'Neill (tracks: 1, 2, 8)

Guitar – Mike Miller (tracks: 2 to 7)

Keyboards – Walt Fowler (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8)

Percussion – Ricky Cosentino (tracks: 1)

Tenor Saxophone – Albert Wing (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 8)

Trombone – Bruce Fowle (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 8)

Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Walt Fowler (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 6, 8)

Violin – Tom Fowler (tracks: 4)

Vocals – Aimee Chalfant (tracks: 5)

Vocals – Lynn Fiddmont (tracks: 8)

Vocals – Ricky Cosentino (tracks: 1 to 7)

Words By – Ricky Cosentino (tracks: 6)

This is a really brilliant album if one has the de-conditioned ears to listen closely. It is very accessible but also very Zappaesque and modern, as it should be, coming from Zappa's old bass player from the early 1970s, during the time George Duke and Jean Luc Ponty were in the band (Fowler also played on the stone-cold classic early JLP albums "Aurora" and "Imaginary Voyage"). Some of the songs have a "smooth-jazz" feel to it on the surface but make no mistake about it, they are still quite progressive in their own little ways. Fowler, following the example of Zappa, has tweaked the tunes and the lyrics and every bit of detail in just the right way to turn it into a real artistic statement full of humor and discovery and not just another cynical attempt to get radio play and achieve "commercial potential" through watering things down. The singers Fowler uses are not famous names to me but they are amazing. I really hate bad singers (or singers who may have at one time been great but lost it) who can't carry a tune but are given a pass because they're famous personalities from well-known groups,etc.

As far as appearances from other famous Zappa alumni go besides Tom and the rest of the Fowler brothers, Vinnie Colaiuta plays drums on track 8, Chester Thompson on track 2 and Ralph Humphrey on track 4. Chick Corea, Allan Holdsworth and Alanis Morissette drummer Gary Novak plays drums on track 1.

Steve Fowler - 1991 - The Last Blue Sky

Steve Fowler

1991

The Last Blue Sky

01. Prisoner Of Dreams (5:10)

02. The Last Blue Sky (5:30)

03. Sneaky (4:47)

04. In The Drums (5:13)

05. A Trip With Bill (4:34)

06. Reunion At Phil's (5:24)

07. Klaope (5:31)

08. May I See Your Cotangent Bundle, Please? (6:06)

09. Misgivings (4:18)

Steve Fowler / flute, alto sax

Walt Fowler / trumpet, flugelhorn, keyboards

Ed Fowler / bass, organ, electric piano

Chester Thompson / drums, percussion

Alex Acuna / percussion

Bruce Fowler / trombone

Albert Wing / tenor sax

Tom Fowler / electric bass

Mike Miller / acoustic guitar, electric guitar

George Souza / electric guitar

Kevin Chokan / electric guitar

Chris Trujillo / percussion

Russ Henry / percussion

Mike O'Neill / electric guitar

Ed Mann / percussion

Ramon Estagnaro / acoustic guitar

Steve Fowler is one of the two Fowler brothers (the other was Ed) to not appear on a Frank Zappa album. But from this release, I wonder why this was so. Here, Steve shows to be every bit as talented as his brothers. Perhaps Frank didn't have much use for flute in his compositions.

With all but two of the tracks written by Steve, the music on this album is primarily fusion, unlike the more big band oriented released under brother Bruce's and The Fowler Brothers monnikers. And the fusion is quite good. While using the flute as the primary instrument can often cause a bit too much lightness, Steve manages to curtail this by having quite a few interesting twists and turns to his music.

However good his compositions are, the best songs on the album were written by other brothers. Ed contributed In The Drums, a song that seems like it's going to be a simple samba, except it kepps veering into Zappa-like interludes. And Bruce wrote, May I See Your Cotangent Bundle, Please, which features Ed Mann on percussion.

Zappaphiles should note that aside from Fowlers Bruce, Walt and Tom, the album also features Chester Thompson on drums and Albert Wing on tenor sax. Mike Miller, who played with many Zappa alumni in Banned From Utopia, is also on this album.

Steve Fowler - 1987 - Captured

Steve Fowler

1987

Captured

01. The Pygmy Forest 4:52

02. Colors For Marvin 4:07

03. For H.H. He Is Abnormal 6:18

04. The Gentleman Of Leisure 3:58

05. The Wayside 5:23

06. They Hang Out 6:08

07. Bikini Paralysis 4:45

08. Drowning In The Air 3:53

Drums – Chester Thompson

Electric Bass – Ed Fowler

Guitar – Mike O'Neill

Percussion – Alex Acuña

Flute, Alto Saxophone – Steve Fowler

Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Keyboards – Walt Fowler

Synth – Paul Young

Trombone – Bruce Fowler

Vocals – Marvin Fowler

One of 5 musical brothers, and the son of a classical composer and professor of music, Steve has been surrounded by both jazz abd classical music throughtout his life. The Fowler Brothers' Band was a pioneer in the early days of fusion and the use of synthesizers in jazz. Recently, the Fowler Brothers have developed their own record company and have all found work in the LA film industry, playing and orchestrating on many movies, including The Lion King, Batman Returns and The Mask. Steve has toured the U S with the Brian Setzer Orchestra and the Gregory Hines Group "Rhapsody in Taps" and The Fowler Brothers. Steve has recorded with The Fowler Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Brian Setzer, Chester Thompson, Scott Brannon, Stan Ridgeway, Geraldo Avevido, Hillary Stagg and many others.

The Flute makes a lonely sound, its high floating tones evoking a kind of ineffable sadness that rises over the accompaniment of other instruments. It could have been the mood I was in that made me feel that way as I drove away from the small, dark apartment occupied by Steve Fowler. He had given me a compact disc called "The Last Blue Sky" that I listened to as I edged through the blistering heat of North Hollywood on a cloudless Valley day. Fowler produced the album and plays the flute in it. I became absorbed by its sound and imagined it came from someplace deep in the man's soul..........I became aware of himwhen a friend sent me a eulogy Fowler had written for himself, its depth and beauty transcending illness to achieve a plane most writers never know. ......... The memory of Steve Fowler burns in my memory. His written words resonate. Driving away, I listen to the tears in his music, the lonely cry of his flute, and I feel a great sadness.

Fowler Brothers - 1988 - Breakfast For Dinosaurs

Fowler Brothers 

1988 

Breakfast For Dinosaurs

01. Call Waiting (6:10)

02. Languished On The Line (5:01)

03. Queue (6:43)

04. Breakfast For Dinosaurs (4:26)

05. Mr. Butterfly (4:26)

06. She's Not Symmetrical (4:56)

07. Kaiparowitz High (6:48)

08. No More Mr. Nice Girl (5:19)

Bruce Fowler / trombone, background vocals

Steve Fowler / alto sax, flute

Tom Fowler / bass

Walt Fowler / trumpet, flugelhorn, keyboards

Ed Fowler / bass, keyboards

Albert Wing / tenor sax

Mike O'Neill / Electric Guitar, background vocals

Lynn Fiddmont / lead & background vocals

Chester Thompson / drums

Alex Acuna / drums, percussion

Vinny Colaiuta / drums

Phil Teele / bass trombone

Ike Willis / lead vocal

Mike Miller / acoustic guitar

Luis Conte / percussion

Mona Lisa Young / background vocals

Alec Milstein / background vocal

The title track is the most interesting cut on the album, and it's no surprise it was penned by Bruce Fowler. Most of the rest of the album sounds like it's from a 1980s movie soundtrack (for some reason I keep picturing Eddie Murphy). Even the final cut would fit right in being played during a film's credit roll at the end of the movie. Better I think for most people to seek out Bruce's solo efforts first.

Fowler Brothers - 1985 - Hunter

Fowler Brothers 

1985

Hunter

01. Cosmic Relief / Feel The Way

02. Here I Go Again

03. Horny Toads & Foolish Quail

04. The Coin Flip

05. Chris

06. The Nopah

07. Take Out The Garbage

08. Late Scratch

Alto Saxophone – Steve Fowler

Bass – Ed Fowler, Tom Fowler

Drums – Chester Thompson, Tony Morales (tracks: 3)

Flugelhorn – Walt Fowler

Flute – Steve Fowler

Guitar – Mike Miller

Organ – Ed Fowler, Walt Fowler

Percussion – Tony Morales (tracks: 6)

Piano – Ed Fowler

Synthesizer – Ed Fowler, Walt Fowler

Tenor Saxophone – Albert Wing

Trombone – Bruce Fowler

Trumpet – Walt Fowler

Violin – Tom Fowler

Vocals – Nikki Harris* (tracks: 3), Roz Clarke Thompson* (tracks: 1)

The Fowler Brothers are the sons of music educator William Fowler. They are extremely versatile musicians who have collectively appeared on a huge number of albums for a very wide array of artists. Brothers Bruce (trombone), Tom (bass) and Walt (trumpet) may be the best known of the family, having played with Frank Zappa on a number of albums and tours. The other brothers are Steve (sax, flute) and Ed (bass, keyboards). While they only recorded one official album as The Fowler Brothers, the same essential group has released an album under the name Air Pocket, and under the individual names of the brothers. Other frequent members of the band are Albert Wing and Kurt McGettrick (Zappa), Mike Miller (Chick Corea Elektrik Band) and Chester Thompson (Genesis, Zappa).