Michael Bowie (double bass)

....the band members showed what they had: Mr. Bowie soloing in almost vocal-like phrases with glottal stops...BEN RATLIFF.... New York Times

Michael Bowie is an internationally recognized musician, performing on both the electric and contrabass. With roots in the Washington D.C. jazz and gospel community, he was a recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts Award in Jazz Studies and trained with Betty Carter and Keter Betts. Soon after, Michael signed with Verve Records as an original member of "The Harper Brothers". He went on to perform, record and tour with Abdulla Ibrahim, Michel Pettruciani, including the Grammy Award winning "Look What I Got" with Betty Carter. Michael has expanded his musical interests and performance to include a wide variety of musical forms from jazz to symphony to rock. As musical director he has worked with many artists worldwide including Patti Labelle, James Ingram, Jeff Majors, Abbey Lincoln, Angie Stone, Isaac Hayes, Gil Scott-Heron. He has shared his talents in the recording studio and on the stage with Sarah Vaughn, Joe Williams, Manhattan Transfer, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Della Reece, Michel Camilo, Ricky Skaggs, and he is currently touring with vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater. He has appeared on countless television shows such as Austin City Limits, BET, Charlie Rose, and Radio One. As a performer he has appeared at major venues and festivals world wide such as Carnegie Hall, the Newport Jazz Festival in New York and Japan, Montreal Jazz Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival, Montreux, and most other major festivals worldwide. In addition Michael has contributed his services to a variety of multi-media outlets in production, as a composer, and consulting work. His works can be heard in television, radio and industrial markets. In addition to his personal musical career, Michael is deeply involved in developing children's music enrichment. He is a certified teacher in Washington D.C.'s Public School system at the Oyster-Adams Bilingual School. As a lecturer and associate professor he has taught at Shenandoah Conservatory, Michigan University, University of Missouri, and Bowie State amongst others. In addition, he has worked with the Wolftrap Institute for Early Childhood Learning program in Virginia, and the Thelonius Monk Institute in Washington DC. In addition he is the current musical director of the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra in Washington DC.

The group Sine Qua Non is Michael's latest project as a bandleader, bassist and composer. Their first CD release, "Simple Pleasures" has held a position on the CMJ Top 40 World Music chart for numerous weeks. Sqnband.com