Chuck Owen Jazz Composer

Season 2 Episode 4

Recorded 4/10/26

Released 5/13/26

Length: 32 MIN 37 SEC

Welcome to Shaping Our Story with host Louise Krikorian—where inspiring leaders share their passion, purpose, and perseverance to help you thrive.

Five-time Grammy-nominated jazz composer, bandleader, and former university professor Chuck Owen joins Louise Krikorian on Shaping Our Story for a powerful conversation about passion, perseverance, creativity, and the lifelong pursuit of music.

From composing music in high school to leading his acclaimed ensembles The Jazz Surge and ReSurgence, Chuck Owen reflects on the experiences that shaped his extraordinary career. He shares stories about teaching and mentoring students who later worked with legendary artists including Ray Charles, Paquito D’Rivera, Dolly Parton, and Stevie Wonder, while discussing the influence of musical icons such as Quincy Jones and Chick Corea.

In this episode, Chuck opens up about the discipline required to create music every day, the vulnerability of being an artist, and why growth comes from taking creative risks. He also previews The Jazz Surge’s 30th Anniversary Florida Concert Tour in September 2026 and the recording of the ensemble’s upcoming 8th album featuring special guest artists.

🔥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Jazz composition and creativity

Teaching and mentoring young musicians

Working with legendary artists

Inspiration from Quincy Jones and Chick Corea

The importance of perseverance and daily discipline

The creative process behind new music

The Jazz Surge 30th Anniversary Tour and upcoming album

👍 If this inspired you:

Like, comment, and share to help others build meaningful connections and live with purpose.

💻 LEARN MORE about our guest and his concert tour

Website: www.chuckowen.com

Facebook: @ChuckOwen7

Instagram: @ChuckOwen54

YouTube Channel: @chuckowen9628

6-24-2025 USF Oral Histories project

https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/arts_culture_ohp/18/

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On Shaping Our Story, exemplary leaders share lessons in passion, purpose and perseverance. Real people. Real stories. Real strategies to help you thrive. Hosted by Louise Krikorian, award-winning storyteller, educator, and filmmaker, this podcast brings you powerful insights from inspiring voices across industries.

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Creator, Producer, Host: Louise A Krikorian

Editor: George C Davison

Years Active: 2025

Episodes: 14

Rating: Clean

Hosted with Buzzsprout www.b

Transcript

Louise Krikorian: Hi, I'm Louise Krikorian, and this is Shaping Our Story where I talk with exemplary leaders about their passion, purpose, and perseverance, to encourage you to thrive. 

Today, our guest, five-time Grammy-nominated jazz composer and former university professor Chuck Owen, has a career that spans teaching, performing, and creating music at the highest level. From inspiring his students to perform with renowned artists like Ray Charles and Paquito D'Rivera (pah-KEE-toe day-ree-VAIR-ah) to encouraging his students to become exemplary leaders in the music industry working with artists like Dolly Parton and Stevie Wonder. Chuck Owen has been composing jazz music since he was in high school and leads his two ensembles, a big band called The Jazz Surge and his seven piece group, ReSurgence. He has learned from his many heroes including Quincy Jones and Chick Corea. Chuck Owen shares his deep commitment to creativity, collaboration, and the lifelong pursuit of music. This episode is all about what fuels his passion—and how it continues to evolve and deepen—over time.

Louise: Well, welcome Chuck Owen. It's so great to see you here. I'm so glad that you agreed to be interviewed for Shaping Our Story. 

Chuck: I'm delighted to be here. Louise. Thanks for asking me. 

Louise: Yeah. Now we've talked before, um, I've, I met you at an event at the Palladium, and that is in St. Pete, and then also I interviewed you for the USF, which is the University of South Florida's oral history, um, program that they have that is online at USF at Digital Commons. And, um, so I was just really happy that you agreed to be interviewed also for my podcast. Um, one of the things that we've talked about in the past is how you are a retired university professor. You're a jazz composer. You have recorded albums and right now you're recording a new album, so I'd like to talk about that. You have two ensembles. You have a jazz band, um, you 

have a seven piece group, so you have two different ensembles, right? 

Chuck:  They're 

Louise: both jazz bands, 

Chuck:  but one's just bigger than the other. 

Louise: One's larger, yes. Than the other. And you have performed with world renowned artists like Nat Adderley. So of all of those pursuits working with students and then also performing and recording, what would you say is your passion or greatest interest? 

Chuck:  Well, I absolutely love loved being a professor and working with students. There's, um, it's a very. It feels really good. I love, you know, encouraging creativity and seeing, um, that age, particularly the college age. I, I just, it was so meaningful for my life. I, I, and I think it is just such an. Great transitional time in people's lives. I feel like I can have an impact and encourage them, and I love seeing where they're headed. Um, but at the same time, I think my musical passion has always been around composition. Um, mostly jazz composition, but it's kind of. Varied a little bit. I, I certainly have influences well outside of jazz that have, have cupped into my music. Um, so, and that's, so that's by retiring from teaching I've, you know, anything but retired now I've just switched gears and been able to focus more continuously on, on my role as a composer and a band leader.

Louise: So, do you miss working with students? 

Chuck:  I do to a certain extent. Um, but I'm very fortunate in that. So I, in touring with my small group and I also have booked a bunch of lecture tours and just, uh, next week I'm going out and I'm doing a one week residency at the University of North Texas. So I'm able to get out. To universities and work with, um, students still pretty regularly actually. Um, and so I, I get it and I just don't have to deal with all the other stuff involved and, and you know, being a university professor, all of the administrative stuff and all that sort of, so it's kind of nice, um, to kind of come in and, and do a lecture, work with people for a little bit and then head out. 

Louise: Yeah, I understand that 'cause I, I miss working with my students too now that I'm a retired teacher, but I, I do have younger people who are aspiring to be the best at what they want to be, and so I'm interviewing them. Mm-hmm. So I still do get to work with some younger people who are working on becoming someone like you.

Chuck:  Well be careful.

Louise: So it's interesting 'cause when you were in high school, you were in many different bands, but you were specifically in the stage band or the jazz band when you were in high school, and that's when you started writing music. So what I would like to know is who was the first person who inspired you to compose?

Chuck:  You know, it's, I, I don't know as much the person that inspired me as much as the opportunity to [00:14:00] compose. Uh, um, our band director, um, was a, had a classical background at the time. We just switched band directors and all of a sudden he came in and said, I don't want anything to do with the jazz band. Um, he had no, no use for it. Um, so he said, you guys can still do it, but you're gonna have to lead it yourself. And we had no. Budget for music or anything. So all of a sudden if we wanted to play anything that wasn't currently in our library, we had to write it or arrange it ourselves. Um, and there was really only one other, um, person at the, at the time when I jumped in who was doing it at all. I had never done it, but I thought, well, I, I'd taken classical piano and theory. I knew theory. And so I figured I would, you know, I would jump in there. And I was inspired by, um. So most of the music we had in the library, there was kind of older, um, kind of swinger sort of music. Glenn Miller, Ben Goodman, that sort of stuff, which we enjoyed playing. But we also, uh, you know, were very much inspired by groups like Blood, sweat and Tears and Chicago and all those horn bands, um, that were more, they called jazz rock, but, you know, maybe a little bit more rock. But, but 

Louise: mm-hmm. 

Chuck:  Actually you could, could, um, see that jazz bands playing that, except that. I had never heard anybody doing it. So I would transcribe a bunch of that and then arrange it, um, for the big band. And it really only takes about the first time you sit there and write music in your own hand and you hand out all the parts in a, you know, you hand out 20 parts in a, in a big band like that, and they play it in it. That sound that comes out is just so inspirational. I was like, oh, wow. I did that. You know? And so I was kind of hooked immediately following that as were a couple of really good friends and we put together a group on the outside that was, so I started writing for that. Um, but I didn't have a composition teacher or anybody kind of pushing me to. To write music. I just had an opportunity to write, so I, I've kept that in mind. Um, when I've been teaching too, is to make sure that you can find ways for students to have similar opportunities to let them go and do what kind of inspires them. Um, you know, I thinking about who. Maybe a person that inspired me because at the time I really didn't know other musicians. I mean, later on very early I got really inspired by Quincy Jones. He was a huge influence, um, at North Texas. When I was there for an undergraduate, uh, an amazing musician, Lyle Mays, who ended up playing with the Pat Metheny group, was very inspirational in letting me see. That you could approach a jazz big band outside of the, kind of the traditional norms. Um, that was very inspirational. But you know that the, the first person that I was my hero as a young, young kid was actually Pete Rose, a baseball player. You know, who, who didn't, why was not thinking, we don't think very highly of Pete Rose these days because he had so many personal problems. 

Louise: Mm-hmm. 

Chuck:  But he was, um, he was such a, uh. He was so, he so loved the game of baseball. It was transparent the minute you saw him on the field. He absolutely loved that game. He was not the most talented. He was not the biggest, he was not the fastest. He was not the best. But he worked so hard at it and he, you know, they called him Charlie Hustle. He hustled all the time. And I was always a very small person. Um, I never felt I was the most talented, whatever. But I felt like that just through that, with that hard work with that kind of. Making sure you love what you're doing and that you just pursue it, you know, at your, to your utmost. That has stayed with me almost my entire life, you know? Um, I've kind of always felt like a little bit like the, an underdog in some ways. I mean, jazz music is not a big popular music. And, and so, um, I, I think there, I, I took something from that person in a very non-musical way, but you know, that, that has stayed with me. 

Louise: So with Pete Rose, you got to see his passion and his perseverance, and that was, that inspired you to 

Chuck:  Right.

Louise: Persevere. 

Chuck:  Absolutely. 

Louise: Yeah. Yeah. Did you also say that you, um, were inspired by Quincy Jones? Mm-hmm. And, and can you tell me more? 

Chuck:  Well, Quincy Jones, um, in the sixties had, um, a big, big bang. This was before he got involved with really pop music and he came up and he was very traditionally was, um, wrote for Count Bassy and all these great singers and just, you know, I didn't know this at the time, but when I first ran into him, he had a big band, um, of some of the finest, uh, la um, studio musicians. And he was writing, again, kind of like what I mentioned, Lyle, but he was writing big band music, so in very much jazz, big band music. But that was referencing a little bit of what I would listen to on the radio pop culture and all of that sort of thing. Um, you know, it wasn't doing like Michael Jackson stuff, but it was, it was still kind of. Pulling it at a lot of kind of rock beats, a Latin beats, all of that sort of thing. And, and these were beautifully, beautifully produced albums too. Um, so they just sounded great. And I, I will say I listened to those and I said, I wanna do that. I want to, you know, I, it was kind of mystery as to how he did it, some of that. Mm-hmm. He and he, that's, he came from a really strong jazz background. Mm-hmm. And then just created a career that went beyond that. Um, and so that also was very inspirational to me that you could, but it also, it, it, um, enforced, uh. The need for a strong jazz foundation, which mm-hmm. I've continued to, um, as much as I, I think I've gone beyond that in my own writing, but with students, I think that is the, is a big key for writers is to have that foundation first and then move forward.

Louise: So did you work with him or meet him? 

Chuck:  No, I've met Quincy, um, much, much later. Uh, but uh, I never got to work with him and I really didn't get to, um, you know, there's a, a number of my heroes over the years that I've got to consider friends and I, that that was not the case with Quincy. I just kind of met him. I had a, you know, chance to be a fan boy for a second. And, uh, and that was kinda it. 

Louise: Okay. So I'd like to know more about your other heroes. I'm wondering if your concert tour with Chick Corea, if he was one of your heroes. 

Chuck:  Oh, absolutely. Chick was definitely one of my heroes. Um, uh, both, you know. Again, I, I tend to like musicians, um, that have a really broad musical landscape. And so even though their, their core maybe as a, is as a jazz musician, they have embraced so many other things. And Chick did that when my first, you know, um, introduction to Chick was with kind of a, a very pretty heavy jazz rock group, a emphasis on the rock. Uh, you know, it was, uh, it was very gar guitar influenced, uh, um. But then I, he, he went into this gear where he started doing the, um, he did an album, which I absolutely love, called My Spanish Heart, which was very much flamenco ish and all that sort of thing. Mm. I loved seeing all those possibilities. Uh, and then I did get to to know Chick pretty well over the years. Not, you know, the tour, the initial tour started that, but then, um, his living near me, um, offered us opportunities to get together and, uh, um, and my only real disappointment was that, um. Uh, we were supposed to do a project together. He was gonna be on my album. Um, and then he passed away just shortly before that.

Chuck:  Yeah. 

Louise: That was so sad. He was just too young. Too young. 

Chuck:  Yes. Very definite. 

Louise: Yeah. So, I'm wondering if in one sentence, this is a challenge for you, Chuck. 

Chuck:  It's big challenge for me. I don't do anything. In one sentence, 

Louise:  could you state your purpose? 

Chuck:  No. 

Louise: Okay. 

Chuck:  Um. yeah, I guess so. I'm, I mean, I'm already failing at the one sentence thing. I, I guess I don't, I, I, I'm not sure I like word. Um, uh, just feels like, um. I guess if, uh, okay. I'm gonna, I'll try and answer the question. Um, my purpose, I guess, is to share my, um, my, uh, vision and, um, kind of ideals with other, other in meaningful ways. Mm-hmm. 

Louise: So I think that with your music, you move other people. 

Chuck:  Well, I, I hope so. And that is definitely, I, I, that's very much a, um, and I really appreciate it. I mean, it's, it's, I consider it an honor and a, a joy to be able to share some of my insights with, with, with others, or, and I see insights, but a lot of it is, uh, emotions and a lot of it is, but you know, others. There's messages behind a lot of my music and, uh, you know, I, I don't always know whether that translates or not. Um, but, uh, it's, it's, you know, I, I recognize that in many professions you don't get the chance to do that. You know, you're right. It's, it is a scary thing to open yourself up into realize, you know, I'm kind of trying to show people who I am and they may not like that, or mm-hmm. They may not agree or whatever, but, um 

Louise: mm-hmm. 

Chuck:  But I. More and more I've come to really embrace that, um, that aspect of it. 

Louise: Yeah. Well, as an artist you are very vulnerable. 

Chuck:  Yeah. You 

Louise:  have to just be able to be willing to ShareYourself 

Chuck:  you do yourself. You have to. But, but it's also, it is a really, it it's a very great privilege to be able to do that too.

Louise: Yeah. Well, I think one of the, one of the things that really, um, was interesting in that how strong your music influenced. Where you were, is that when you were in a recording studio and you were recording a song called Spark, sparks Fly, and Sparks were actually flying on the roof. 

Chuck:  Yeah. 

Louise: And you had to be evacuated from the 

Chuck: We did. 

Louise: Yeah. That's. That's strong. 

Chuck:  Yeah. Studio owner owner came in right in the middle of a cut and said, uh, you guys need to get outta here. The fire department's on its way. And uh, 

Louise: yeah. 

Chuck:  I said, what's going on? And he said, well, we don't know for sure, but there're um, there's arcing on the roof, there's sparks coming up. And I, and I said, we are recording a tune called Sparks Fly right now. Yeah. I don't think it has anything to do with it, but you never know. Um, yeah, that 

Louise: was a great odd, 

Chuck:  so I, 

Louise: yeah, I wouldn't consider that a failure at all because you just kind of, you, you took the time to, to go get dinner. Uh, the, the crew just kind of hung out outside, but in, in speaking of failures, and you might not like that word either, but what would you consider your biggest professional failure, and then what did you learn from it?

Chuck:  Um, yeah, again, you're, you're kind of right. I, I am not a particular fan of the word failure, but I, and then maybe that's the wrong way to put it, is I think failure happens all the time. It, it does in my profession. Mm-hmm. Um, you have to be willing to risk that. And, and it's actually, it's a great learning tool. It's maybe the best learning tool. Uh, and I don't know that I can't cite a single place. I don't consider that situation a failure. Um, yeah. There. It's a, it's a challenge, and I will say there some, I think sometimes people kind of get those two terms mixed up. The challenges are enormous in, in the, the jazz world and trying to, especially in this day and age. It's just there are so many impediments along the way that you have to be willing. To, to, you know, encounter those and, and to kind of hurdle them. Um, failure's a little bit different than different thing. Um, but I've had any number of times when I've written for, uh, a band and, and you go and you hear a piece of music and you say, oh my, my gosh, that's not what I intended. So you go back and you immediately look at it and you say, what did I do well? And so you changed something. Um, you know, honestly, I think. There's probably not a piece of music I've written or recorded that I would go back and not consider certain points in that, those failures that, that, oh, that didn't achieve what I wanted it to do. I could have done that better. Um, but you know, the word implies something that. That I, you know, I don't like, I mean, I see those as learning things and then you grow from that. And so rather than being, it's like, oh my gosh. You know? Um, so I, I guess, uh. You know, I, I think putting myself out there, the biggest failures is when I haven't been willing to put myself out there and I can't, again, think of a single thing, but, but I think that's probably the biggest failure, is when all of a sudden fear gets hold of you and you say, I'm just not gonna, I don't think that's gonna work or whatever, and you don't try, that's a failure.

Louise: Um, hmm hmm. Interesting. So, do you think that composing comes easily to you or comes naturally? 

Chuck:  No to, to this very minute. Absolutely not. Um, uh, and maybe it's 'cause I'm always trying to kind of do something a little bit different. Um, I'm certainly much more comfortable with aspects, you know, I've been doing this very long, long time now, and so there's certain things that were challenges for me early in my career that I don't even think about now, that that's, you know. Mm-hmm. Um. And, you know, I, again, I'm not gonna throw anybody under the bus, but I've known composers who, once they get to a certain level, a comfort level, that's what they write for the rest of their lives. And then I think that that does come easy to them. I, I've always tried to push myself to do something different, which 

Louise: mm-hmm.

Chuck:  Means that I'm gonna be uncomfortable. And I think that's a good. You know, good place to be honestly. Um, and that sets you up for those occasional little failures because in that, those positions, you're trying something new, you may not nail it, right? Mm-hmm. But then you learn from that and you go on. Yeah. 

Louise: But I think you have an aptitude for it because when you were in high school, as you said, your, your, um, the band director didn't wanna do it anymore, and there, there wasn't anybody else around, maybe one other student to write. So in some sense it does come naturally to you because you were able to think in your head, okay, let me look at another composer's work. Let me look at the sheet music, which is what I'm assuming that you did. And then you took that music and then you transposed it to another piece of blank sheet music and you started writing out the notes and you created your own arrangement. And not everybody thinks that way.

Chuck:  No, I, I, and I recognize that and, and I did get, so, you know, in addition to the, my own feeling of, oh, that's so great to hear that music coming back at me. We would play it in, in concerts and people would come and say, I love that piece. And that was, you know, that was the musical version of crack, you know, um, you'd get that and people would say that. And so it did it. It was very encouraging. And, you know, even the band director who hated what we were doing said that was, you know, just, you know, you've got a talent for this, right? And you should kind of pursue it. Um, and I think it's really easy for people to say, I, I don't know that it was so much as talent as it was just. Um, I did have certain tools that allowed me to do it, and I had desire to do it, and I, I the will to keep on trying it. Um, and, but, you know, without occasional affirmations along the way of people saying that it's really good that it would be easy to kind of say, oh, well I'm done with this. Um, yeah. All along the way I would, I felt I was getting enough positive. He made all the negative stuff. I could kind of just, okay. Shove it aside. Move on. 

Louise: Right. Thank you for joining us at Shaping Our Story. Thanks to our guest,  Chuck Owen who’s ability to consistently show up everyday and do the hard work no matter how difficult is proof that he combines his passion with perseverance. If you enjoyed this week’s episode click on follow and leave a comment to inspire us or to suggest a guest.  And remember, if this made you think, please share the thought with a friend. See you next time.