Funk Night – Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Joe Bowie (voc, tb)

«Joseph Bowie’s Big Band Funk – The Legendary Music of Defunkt»

Joseph Bowie is the brother of big band musician Byron Bowie and Art Ensemble of Chicago co-founder Lester Bowie. Joe, who had previously worked as a sideman for various jazz musicians of the 1970s, formed the punk-funk-jazz group Defunkt in 1978. The band released several influential and genre-bending albums in the 1980s, including “Thermonuclear Sweat” and “In America,” and Defunkt’s music has been called “one of the most adventurous sounds of the last quarter of the 20th century.” Combining groove, funk, soul and avant-garde elements with Joe Bowie’s energetic stage presence, powerful vocals and free-jazz trombone improvisation, the music has won over generations of music fans.

Over the past 20 years, Joe Bowie has also worked to adapt this music for big band. One of the arrangers Joe has been working with since 2011 is Ed Partyka.

The ZJO is pleased to present an energetic evening of danceable hits from Defunkt’s long history, augmented by the full power of the Zurich Jazz Orchestra.

Joseph Bowie was born in Missouri USA in 1953 and grew up in a musical family. With a music teacher for a father, not only he but his two brothers pursued the path to becoming professional musicians. His musical stints include many years in major American and European cities: As a member of the Black Artists Group, he was drawn to Paris when he was only 18, for his first extended international residency. Later he lived in New York for many years and was an integral part of the New York “Downtown Scene”. As a bandleader for Tyrone Davis and other R&B greats, he was based in Chicago. Today Joseph Bowie lives in Holland, where he continues all his musical projects and creates new ones. He has made a name for himself in Europe with his big band funk and teaches it in his “FunkShop” workshops at various European schools.