Jon Cowherd

The Kentucky-raised, New Orleans-schooled, New York-based Cowherd is best known for his long-running partnership with drummer/bandleader Brian Blade, with whom he co-founded the Grammy nominated Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band, whose acclaimed, influential albums showcase Cowherd's stellar keyboard work and singular compositional skills. When not recording and touring with the Fellowship, Cowherd has worked extensively with a broad array of players and singers from the jazz, pop and rock worlds including Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, KD Lang, Rosanne Cash, Iggy Pop, Cassandra Wilson and Lizz Wright.

In 2013, ArtistShare and Blue Note records released Cowherd’s first album as a leader “Mercy” which features Bill Frisell, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. Cowherd and Blade also co-led three all star Joni Mitchell tribute concerts along with such artists as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Chaka Khan, Aimee Mann, Glen Hansard, Cassandra Wilson, Kurt Elling, Esperanza Spaulding, Patti Austin, Judith Hill, Kris Kristofferson, Rufus Wainwright, Michael Kiwanuka, Lizz Wright and Becca Stevens.

In 2017 Cowherd released a new recording on the exclusive “vinyl only” Newvelle record label. “Gateway” consists of 7 compositions by Cowherd and one from Brian Blade and features Steve Cardenas and Tony Scherr. Other recent projects this year have included performances by the Fellowship Band and the Shreveport Symphony and the Loyola University Symphony Orchestra with compositions and orchestrations by Blade and Cowherd as well as tours with Alicia Olatuja, Nate Smith and Kinfolk and Tom Guarna’s Wishing Stones project.

This October Cowherd will team up with Brandi Carlile to re-create Joni Mitchell’s “ Blue” album at the Walt Disney Theater.

joncowherd.com 

Pianist Jon Cowherd has raised eyebrows in his work with the Brian Blade Fellowship. Cowherd's playing shows an artful touch to the keys in ways Thelonious Monk used to; emphasis on just the right dynamic at just the right time and a sense of harmonic imagination that is tied to the music of the moment and not some preconceived music-school taught voicing concept. Cowherd's playing on the mid-tempo ballad Five Nights, with his use of occasionally non-traditionally voiced single line juxtapositions to trumpeter's Michael Rodriguez's incredible solo, is worth the price of the disc alone. - Thomas R. Erdmann

Until now I failed to grasp the genius of the final three minutes of "Return of the Prodigal Son," by Fellowship pianist Jon Cowherd. Something happened when the group reached this section at the gig. A perfect melody, a paradisiacal set of chords in flowing waltz time, an accumulation of sound and texture as the theme grew out of Cowherd's piano intro - it was everything music should be, and the beauty of it was almost hard to stand. A band of the year nomination for BBF, please. And a long overdue nod to Jon Cowherd as a top composer. - David Adler

Jon Cowherd - Mercy