Stanley Cowell (May 5, 1941 – December 17, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and co-founder of the Strata-East Records label.
Early life
Cowell was born in Toledo, Ohio.[1] He began playing the piano around the age of four, and became interested in jazz after seeing Art Tatum at the age of six.[2] Tatum was a family friend.[1]
After high school, Cowell studied classical piano with Emil Danenberg at Oberlin Conservatory of Music[3] He included "Emil Danenberg" in his 1973 suite "Musa: Ancestral Dreams".[4] During his time at Oberlin, he played with jazz multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk, which proved to be formative.[1] He went on to receive a graduate degree in classical piano from the University of Michigan. He moved to New York in the mid-1960s.[1]
In 1971, Cowell co-founded the record label Strata-East with trumpeter Charles Tolliver. The label would become one of the most successful Black-led, independent labels of its day.[6]
As The Piano Choir; with Nat Jones, Hugh Lawson, Webster Lewis, Harold Mabern, Danny Mixon and Sonelius Smith (piano, electric piano, vocals, percussion, African piano, harpsichord)
As The Piano Choir; with Sonelius Smith (piano, electric piano), Ron Burton, Nat Jones, Hugh Lawson, Webster Lewis and Harold Mabern (piano), Mtume, Jimmy Hopps and John Lewis (percussion)
With Marion Brown (wooden flute), Jimmy Heath (soprano sax, flute, alto flute), John Stubblefield (zuna), Jerry Venable (guitar), Psyche Wanzandae (harmonica, flute), Bill Lee (bass), Aleke Kanonu (bass drum, vocals), Billy Higgins (drums, gembhre, percussion), Ed Blackwell (water drum, parade drum, percussion), Nadi Quamar (mama-lekimbe, percussion, Madigascan harp), Charles Fowlkes (vocals, electric bass), Glenda Barnes and Kareema (vocals)
One track solo piano; most tracks trio, with Santi Debriano (bass), Joe Chambers (drums); some tracks quartet, with Steve Coleman (alto sax, soprano sax) added
^Russonello, Giovanni (December 20, 2020). "Stanley Cowell, Jazz Pianist With a Wide Range, Dies at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2020. Strata-East Records, a pioneering institution in jazz and the broader Black Arts Movement. It would release a steady run of pathbreaking music over the next decade, becoming one of the most successful Black-run labels of its time.
