JONATHAN ROWDEN is a jazz saxophonist and composer in Los Angeles, and is described as a unique new talent who has exploded into the diverse Los Angeles jazz scene. Jonathan strives for a vision of improvised music that spans beyond traditional genres under the jazz umbrella, and explores new territory, drawing from his eclectic taste and background in classical, pop, rock, jazz, and many styles in-between. His melodic lyricism, rhythmic acuity, and a fiery passion for the experiment make him a kindred voice to the listener, and his unique, participatory approach to group improvisation takes listeners on a journey beyond listening, and into truly engaging in the moment. According to Gary Fukushima (LA Weekly, LAJC)"Rowden is now negotiating a strong foothold within the music scene, beginning to explore collaborations with many of the best jazz musicians in Los Angeles (including Nick Mancini, Chris Wabich, etc) and was offered the opportunity to release his debut on the new Los Angeles based creative music label, Orenda Records. It's a good fit for Rowden, as Orenda is positioning itself to be the leading advocate for some of the more exploratory forms of jazz in Los Angeles.
Jonathan is also a sought-after clinician and educator in southern CA, performing and teaching clinics and masterclasses in 2014 at Saddleback College, California State University of Long Beach, California State University Fullerton, etc., as a past member of the award winning Mount San Antonio Community College jazz faculty, and while maintaining a steady private studio of college students and young professionals, as well as younger students. He received his Master's in Music (jazz performance) from CSU Fullerton in 2011, and continues to work on the sub list for many colleges in the Southern CA area.
THE JONATHAN ROWDEN GROUP is a new instrumental quartet that smashes through traditional dichotomies between form and freedom. At the core of their ethos is a honed interplay between structured, original composition and free improvisation that is a tumultuous balance between fever pitched madness, tender spiritual softness, the absurd, and the profound. Their eclectic synthesis of styles and forms spans the emotional gamut from serene calmness to brutalizing intensity, and has quickly deemed them to be among Los Angeles’ most distinctive, cohesive, and original new voices. Their debut record "BECOMING" was released under Daniel Rosenboom’s boutique label Orenda Records on May 27th, 2014 and is receiving acclaim from listeners and critics alike. In September of 2014, the album was reviewed by seasoned critic Joe Woodard in Downbeat Magazine who gave it ***3/5 stars*** and a stellar review stating:
"Los Angeles-based saxophonist and bandleader Jonathan Rowden is making some notable noise as a worthy player and conceptualist way out west, to quote Sonny Rollins. His group’s aptly named debut, Becoming, is a mix of unabashed emotionality, compositional breadth and occasional flights of free-ish fancy, adding up to an intriguing introductory mission statement from a West Coaster with something fresh to say and play…[Becoming] plays out like a suite-minded structural grand plan… [with] waves of dynamics and melodic pleasantries…there are echoes of the melodic and romantic airs of the Pat Metheny Group.” [edited for length]
- Josef Woodard, Downbeat Magazine, September 2014