Jon Cowherd is an American pianist, composer, arranger, and record producer born to a trombone player (father) and classically trained violinist (mother), both of whom were also educators.[1] Jon began piano lessons at the age of five and trumpet and violin lessons at ten years of age.[1]
Cowherd is most well known for his partnership with
jazz drummerBrian Blade, with whom he co-founded the Brian Blade Fellowship.[2] When not recording and touring with the Fellowship, Cowherd works extensively with a broad array of players and singers from the
jazz,
pop and
rock worlds.[3][4]
The
Brian Blade Fellowship album Season of Changes was released around 2008.[5] Cowherd also worked with Brian Blade in his debut singer-songwriter album Mama Rosa, which was released in 2009 on
Verve Records.[6]
Cowherd's debut album as a leader, Mercy, was released in 2013 on
ArtistShare.[7] It features
Brian Blade,
John Patitucci, and
Bill Frisell.[7] Reviewing the album for allaboutjazz, John Kelman wrote: "With music this well-conceived and a band so telepathically connected, it may have taken Cowherd a long time to release an album under his own name, but with Mercy as the result, it's been well worth the wait; hopefully there won't be such a long one for the follow-up."[7]