A fixture on the Australian music scene for more than half a century, Andy’s style massages the soul -R & B and jazz idiom in a steamy blues piano format. Blues has always been at the core of his work, but it is the emotional quality of his big swampy character filled voice, soulful piano-playing and the diversity he displays as a songwriter and interpreter that have helped make him one of the best live performers in Australia. Andy was awarded Blues Album of the Year for his album “One of These Days. He was an ARIA nominee for his “10.30 Thursdays” CD and represented the MBAS at the International Blues Convention in Memphis, Tennessee in 2002. Andy has recorded 10 studio albums and a live DVD “A Tale Of Two Cities" recorded at The Basement in Sydney and The Corner Hotel in Melbourne. He has arranged and performed on movie soundtracks and has toured internationally and across Australia for nearly five decades. He is now living in the Noosa Hinterland and performing with Ric Halstead-tenor and soprano sax, Christian Dunham - electric and acoustic bass, and Duncan MacQueen - drums.
“Simply suberb” - Sunday Herald - Sun (Lee Howard)
“ ..nothing but pure class” - (Mark Doherty -Rhythms Magazine)
“…..Cowan shows himself to be a great songwriter and musician.” (EdNimmervoll - Music Australia Guide Magazine)
“..a terrific little prize, swampy vocals on a fountain of virtuosic piano playing” (Gary Tippet- The Age)
Andy's latest album Undercover is a labour of love, a collection of classic covers recorded by musicians and forever friends over six months at Andy’s studio at Black Mountain, Noosa hinterland, and featuring the work of some of the greatest songwriters of the blues/jazz/soul/rock idiom, among them Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, I Put A Spell On You, Brian Wilson’s God Only Knows, Leon Russell’s A Song For You and Randy Newman’s Guilty, recorded live at the Majestic Theatre, Pomona. Undercover is an album full of delightful moods and moments, and another triumph for Andy Cowan at its helm. (Phil Jarratt - Noosa Today)
Produced and mixed by Andy Cowan and Christian Dunham
Andy Cowan - vocals/keyboards, Doc Span - harmonica, Ric Halstead - saxophone, Christian Dunham - bass, Duncan Macqueen - drums, percussion
CD orders: elmwoodgrange@gmail.com (also available on Spotify, Tidal, Amazon, Itunes etc streaming services)
Ric Halstead - Soprano and tenor Sax
Ric has lead an extensive and varied International career encompassing Jazz, Blues, World Music, Rock and Rhythm and Blues. He was Music Director for the prestigious Hong Kong Jazz Cub 1989-1995 and worked with and played with such International jazz and blues legends as Nat Adderley, Georgie Fame, Jimmy Witherspoon, Mick Taylor, Gatemouth Brown, Elvin Bishop, Albert Collins etc. and has performed in many festivals here and around Asia. Ric was Festival Director for the 1st Hong Kong Jazz and Blues Festival in 1992. He has recorded albums with Jimmy Witherspoon, Eddie Gomez, Eugene Pao, Jon Hendricks etc..
Christian Dunham - Electric and Acoustic Bass
Best-known in Australia for tours with Matt Moffitt, Margaret Urlich and Kevin Borich, Christian Dunham has played bass for Emily Maguire on concert hall tours in the UK, supporting American legends Don McLean and Dr Hook. Emily and Christian toured the world with Dr Hook, EricBibb and Glenn Tilbrook, among others, playing Glastonbury Festival in the UK, touring Germany and performing gigs in New York before returning to Australia.
Duncan MacQueen - Drums
Duncan has worked professionally in the music scene for many years, starting at a young age in Melbourne, then on to South East Asia, London, and many years in the major music centres of the US. During this period he worked alongside musicians from such groups as Steely Dan, Allman Brothers, Sha Na Na, and on staff with two producers from Motown as both studio player, drum programmer and recording engineer. He now lives, records and plays in the Noosa Hinterland. He has the equivalent of a Bach of Science in digital data processing and worked as a Geophysical consultant before returning to music in 2016.
https://andycowanband.com/
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