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About
Known as one of jazz’s most vibrant emerging artists, Endea Owens is a Detroit-raised recording artist, bassist, and composer. She has been mentored by jazz icons such as Marcus Belgrave, Rodney Whitaker, and Ron Carter. She has toured and performed with Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Holliday, Diana Ross, Rhonda Ross, Solange, Jon Batiste, Jazzmeia Horn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Cyrus Chestnut, among others.
In 2018, Owens graduated from The Juilliard School and joined the Late Show with Stephen Colbert as a member of the house band, Stay Human, where she remained through Colbert’s final season. Since then, Owens has won an Emmy, Grammy, and George Foster Peabody Award. Her work has appeared on Jon Batiste’s Grammy Award-winning album We Are, the Oscar-nominated film Judas and the Black Messiah, and H.E.R.’s Super Bowl LV performance.
In 2022, Owens composed “Ida’s Crusade,” an original piece about the life of Ida B. Wells, for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s National Youth Orchestra. The piece was also performed by the NYO Carnegie Hall Orchestra. Owens has written for brands such as Pyer Moss and Glossier. She curated for the National Arts Club and was a fellow for “Jazz is: Now!” with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, where she presented original compositions, curated series, and headlined performances during the 2022–2023 season. Owens released her debut album, Feel Good Music, in 2023.
This performance is supported by Terry Spaeth and Wendy Shannon-Spaeth.