Website     : www.calvinowens.com

Unlike jazz, where names such as Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, and Miles Davis easily come to mind, trumpeters -- apart from the legendary W.C. Handy -- have not played a central part in creating the mythos of the Blues. Long time B.B. King band member and arranger Calvin Owens takes a step toward rectifying that situation with this CD. The Houston, Texas native Owens, recently relocated to his home town, has formed his own blues orchestra and on 'True Blue' uses twenty-four (count 'em) musicians all told, with special guest appearances from luminaries such as Johnny Clyde Copeland and B.B. King himself, singer B.J. Scott and sax player David 'Fathead' Newman.

Owens' provocative performance makes it clear that his reputation is indisputable. His flam- boyant creations are protrayed in each and every musical note throughout his albums. The moment he strikes up his band, his music generates sur- prising range and power as well as an uniden- tifiable aesthetic quality. Mr Owens' trumpet work is precise and lyrical, sometimes gentle, some- times rugged, and consistently mesmerizing.