bruce fowler
bruce fowler
Son of famous jazz educator Dr. William L. Fowler, Bruce Fowler is an extraordinary trombonist whose jazz credits are based in L.A. studios.
Bruce Fowler was part of Zappa's Mothers from September 1972 (The Grand Wazoo Orchestra) until May 1975.
After being a Mother, Bruce Fowler joined Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, with whom he recorded two albums: "Shiny Beast" and "Doc At The Radar Station".
Bruce Fowler re-joined Zappa for the 1988 world tour.
He can be heard on quite a number of Frank Zappa & Mothers recordings:
"Over-Nite Sensation", "Apostrophe' ", "Roxy &
Elsewhere" and "Bongo Fury"; also on the "Lather"
albums: "Studio Tan", "Sleep Dirt" and "Orchestral
Favorites"; on "The Guitar World According To Frank Zappa", on a
couple of "Stage" albums and on all the albums from the 1988 tour.
Besides that, there's also a couple of albums in the "Beat The Boots"
series, "The Lost Episodes" and the "Imaginary Diseases"
album.
Since 1994, Bruce Fowler has been a part of The Band From Utopia, and he has performed with the Ebony Band and with the Metropole Orkest performing Frank Zappa's music.
Bruce Fowler has released a number of impressive albums, both as a solo artists as with the Fowler Brothers.
discography
| the one o'clock lab band:
lab '68 (1968, lp, usa, century records) - feat.sal marquez, tom malone, bruce fowler, lou marini |
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17 |
the
mothers: over-nite sensation
(1973, lp, usa, discreet) |
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18 |
frank
zappa: apostrophe (') (1974, lp, usa, discreet) |
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19 |
zappa / mothers: roxy & elsewhere (1974, 2lp, usa, discreet) |
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21 |
zappa / beefheart / mothers: bongo
fury (1975, lp, usa, discreet) |
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| george duke: i love the blues, she heard my cry (7) (1976, lp, usa, mps) - feat.bruce fowler, johnny "guitar" watson, ruth underwood |
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| air pocket:
fly on (1976, lp, ??, ??) - feat. fowler brothers, albert wing, mike miller, chester thompson // reissued on cd in 2002 |
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| 1977 Meighan, Bob Band- Mr Hun | ||
| 1977 Stallion- Stallion | ||
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24 |
frank
zappa: studio tan
(24) (1978, lp, usa, discreet) |
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| captain beefheart and the magic band: shiny beast (bat chain
puller) (1978, lp, usa, warner) |
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| 1978 White, Michael [Violin]- X Factor | ||
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25 |
frank
zappa: sleep dirt
(1979, lp, usa, discreet) |
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| 27 | frank
zappa: orchestral favorites
(1979, lp, usa, discreet) |
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| 1979 Watson, Johnny Guitar- What the Hell Is This (Trumpet) | ||
| captain beefheart and the magic band: doc at the radar station (1980, lp, usa, virgin) |
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| 1981 Siberry, Jane- Jane Siberry (Synthesizer) | ||
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robert
williams: buy my record (1981, 12", usa, a & m records sp-12401) - feat. various zappa & beefheart alumni |
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robert williams:
late one night (1982, lp, usa, a & m records amlh 64889) - feat.bruce fowler, arthur barrow, denny walley |
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1 |
bruce fowler & phil teele :
synthetic division (1984, lp, usa, fossil records fo2t-01) |
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| 1984 That's the Way I Feel Now: Tribute (Arranger) | ||
| 1984 Watson, Johnny Guitar- Strike on Computers | ||
| 1985 Ridgway, Stan- Big Heat | ||
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fowler brothers airpocket: hunter (1985, lp, usa, fossil records fbr 001) - feat. albert wing, chester thompson // reissued on cd in 1993 |
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| 1985 Tribute to Kurt Weill: Lost in the (Trombone, Arranger, vocals) | ||
| frank zappa: the guitar world according to frank zappa (1987, mc, usa, ??) |
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steve fowler: captured (1) (1987, lp, usa, eclipse music) - feat.walt and bruce fowler |
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| 1987 Oingo Boingo- Boi-ngo | ||
| 51 | frank zappa: you can't do that on
stage anymore vol.1 (1988, 2cd, usa, ryko) |
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53 |
frank zappa: broadway the hard way (1988, 2lp, usa, barking pumpkin) |
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| 54 | frank zappa: you can't do that on
stage anymore vol.3 (1989, 2cd, usa, ryko) |
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| fowler
brothers: breakfast for dinosaurs (1988, cd, usa, fossil fbr 1002) - feat. albert wing, chester thompson, vinnie colaiuta, ike willis |
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| 1988 Oingo Boingo- Boingo Alive | ||
| 1988 Fields, Brandon- Traveler | ||
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ed mann:
get up (1) (1989, cd, ger, cmp cd 38) - feat.bruce & walt fowler, chad wackerman |
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| 1989 Slack- Bigger Than Breakfast | ||
| 1989 Oingo Boingo- Skeletons in the Closet (Best of) | ||
| 1989 Ridgway, Stan- Mosquitos | ||
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bruce fowler:
ants can count (2) (1990, cd, us, terra nova tnd-9002) - inside cover art by don van vliet / feat.various zappa alumni |
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| 1990 Oingo Boingo- Dark at the End of the Tunnel | ||
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ed mann:
perfect world (2) (1990, cd, ger, cmp cd 45) - feat.bruce & walt fowler, chad wackerman |
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| 1990 Pacific Heights- Pacific Heights (Orchestration)1990 Mateos, Miguel- Obsession | ||
| 55 | frank
zappa: the best band you never
heard in your life
(1991, 2cd, usa, barking pumpkin) |
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| 56 | frank zappa: make a jazz noise here (1991, 2cd, usa, barking pumpkin) |
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57 |
frank zappa: you can't do that on
stage anymore vol.4 (1991, 2cd, usa, ryko) |
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| billy childs:
his april touch (1991, cd, usa, ??) - feat. walt fowler, bruce fowler |
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| 1991 Sellers, Joey- Pastels, Ashes | ||
| arthur
barrow: music for listening (1) (1991, cd, usa, tom&slev's new masters green 01) - feat.walt fowler, bruce fowler, tom fowler, robert williams |
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| 1991 Golia, Vinny- Commemoration | ||
| 1991 Rippingtons- Curves Ahead | ||
| 1991 McIntosh, Ladd- Bulbous Garlic Blues | ||
| zappa / mothers: unmitigated audacity (1991, cd, usa, rhino foo-eee records r2 70540) |
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| frank zappa: piquantique (1991, cd, usa, rhino foo-eee records r2 70544) |
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| chester thompson:
a joyful noise (1991, cd, usa, blue moon / moo records r2 79341) - feat.charles owens, walt fowler, steve fowler, bruce fowler and george duke |
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| 1992 Fields, Brandon- Other Places | ||
| 1992 One O'Clock Lab Band- Best of One O'Clock | ||
| 1992 Cmpler 2- Cmpler 2 | ||
| tom fowler:
heartscapes (1992, cd, usa, fossil records) - feat. lots of zappa alumni |
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| 59 | frank zappa: you can't do that on
stage anymore vol.6 (1992, 2cd, usa, ryko) |
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| 1992 Fibonaccis- Best Of: Repressed | ||
| 1992 Golia, Vinny- Decennium Dans Axlan | ||
| 1992 Oingo Boingo- Best O' Boingo | ||
| 1992 Lawrence, Doc- Doc Lawrence | ||
| 1992 Morris, Jim Brass Plus- Montage | ||
| steve fowler:
the last blue sky (2) (1992, cd, usa, fossil records) - feat.walt, bruce and tom fowler, albert wing, chester thompson and ed mann |
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| bruce fowler:
entropy (3) (1993, cd, us, fossil records fbr 1005) - feat.steve, tom & walt fowler, a.wing, ch.thompson, k.mcgettrick |
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| jack bruce:
somethin' else (1993, cd, usa, ??) - feat. bruce & walt fowler |
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| 1993 Ross, Annie- Short Cuts | ||
| 1993 World of Contemporary Jazz Groups | ||
| 1993 McDonald, Michael- Blink of an Eye | ||
| 1993 Connick, Harry Jr.- When My Heart Finds Christmas | ||
| don
preston: vile foamy ectoplasm (1) (1993, cd, ger, muffin records muffin cdmr 003) - feat. ex-moi and ex-zappa bandmembers |
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| 1994 Weisgall- Six Characters in Search of an Auth | ||
| 1994 Setzer, Brian- Brian Setzer Orchestra | ||
| 1994 Duke, George- Three Originals | ||
| 1994 Orchestra of the Americ- Wild, Wild Westerns (Orchestration) | ||
| 1994 El Rey Leon- El Rey Leon (Vocal Arrangements, Orchestration) | ||
| the
band from utopia: a
tribute to the music of frank zappa - live vol.1 & 2
(1994, cd-pro, muffin records) - all compositions by frank zappa, feat. lots of zappa alumni |
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| 1995 Lofgren, Bruce- Heart of the Night | ||
| the
band from utopia: the band
from utopia (1) (1995, cd, usa, muffin records productions) - all compositions by frank zappa, feat. lots of zappa alumni |
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| arthur
barrow: eyebrow razor (2) (1995, cd, usa, muffin records productions mrp 024) - feat.various zappa alumni |
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64 |
frank zappa: the lost episodes
(1996, cd, usa, ryko) |
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65 |
frank zappa: läther
(1996, 3cd, usa, ryko) |
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| 1996 Hollywood Bowl Orchestr- Always and Forever: Movies Greatest (Arranger) | ||
| 1996 Fan- Fan (Orchestration) | ||
| 1996 Divididos- Divididos | ||
| 1996 Goldfinger- Goldfinger | ||
| 1996 Rimitti- Cheika | ||
| 1997 Duke, George- Is Love Enough | ||
| 1997 Connick, Harry Jr.- To See You | ||
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robert williams:
date with the devil’s daughter (1998, cd, us, casual tonalities) - feat.jeff morris tepper, bruce fowler, arthur barrow, wild man fischer |
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| arthur
barrow: ab3 (3) (1999, cd, usa, cydonian music 1003) - feat.tommy mars, bruce fowler, robert williams |
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| neil sadler:
theory of forms (1999, cd, usa, bleeding arts ba 10012) - feat.m.keneally, walt, steve and bruce fowler and kurt mcgettrick |
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| 1999 Matthew Sweet- In Reverse (reverse trombone, trombone, euphonium) | ||
| 1999 Randy Newman- Bad Love | ||
| captain beefheart: i'm going to do what i wanno do: live at my
father's place 1978 (2000, cd, usa, rhino) |
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| the persuasions: the persuasions sing zappa - frankly a capella (2000, cd, usa, earthbeat r2 79832) - all compositions by f.zappa, feat.b.fowler, mike keneally, robert martin |
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| "Drop Dead Gorgeous"- orchestrator/conductor, music by Mark Mothersbaugh | ||
| the band from utopia: a
tribute to the music of frank zappa (2001, dvd, ger, ??) - all compositions by frank zappa |
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mike
miller: save the moon (2001, cd, usa, marsis jazz pgi / mj 1097) - feat.bruce fowler |
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| captain beefheart:
magnetic hands (2002, cd, uk, viper cd 011) |
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| the banned from utopia:
so yuh don't like modern art (2) (2002, cd, usa, favored nations) - various compositions by frank zappa; feat.various zappa alumni |
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| captain beefheart:
railroadism (2003, cd, uk, viper cd 015) |
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| arthur barrow: on time (2003, cdr, usa, private release) - feat.vinnie colaiuta, tommy mars, bruce fowler, robert williams and d. preston |
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76 |
frank zappa: imaginary diseases (2006, cd, usa, zappa records) |
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79 |
frank zappa: trance-fusion (2006, cd, usa, zappa records) |
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| various artists: the
frank zappa aaafnraa birthday bundle (2006, itunes, -) - feat. frank, moon, dweezil, ahmet & diva zappa |
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| malcolm mcnab:
exquisite - the artistry of malcolm mcnab (2006, cd, usa, kinnell house records 1001) - incl. 'the be-bop tango' (frank zappa) |
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| rosanne cash: black cadillac (2006, cd, usa, capitol) - feat. bruce fowler & albert wing |
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| don
preston: vile foamy ectoplasm (2007, cd, usa, crossfire publications) - feat. frank zappa, ex-moi and ex-zappa bandmembers |
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| jon
larsen: strange news from mars (2007, cd, norway, zonic entertainment) - feat.various ex-zappa bandmembers |
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82 |
frank zappa: wazoo (2007, 2cd, usa, vaulternative records) |
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| lucinda williams: little honey (2008, cd, usa, lost highway) - feat. bruce fowler, walt fowler, albert wing |
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83 |
frank zappa: one shot deal (2008, cd, usa, zappa records) |
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| various artists: the
frank zappa aaafnraaa birthday bundle 21 dec 2008 (2008, itunes, -) - feat. frank, dweezil, ahmet & diva zappa |
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the mar vista
philharmonic: no forest fire |
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robby krieger: singularity |
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| various artists: the
frank zappa aaafnraaaa birthday bundle 21 dec 2010 (2010, itunes, -) - feat. frank, dweezil, ahmet zappa |
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jon
larsen: a portrait of jon larsen (2010, cd, norway, zonic entertainment) = compilation / feat. jimmy carl black; rommy mars and bruce fowler |
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| frank zappa:
penguin in bondage - the little known history of the mothers of
invention (2011, download, usa, zappa records) |
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| taxxi:
traxx (2011, cd, usa, melorirock records) - feat. arthur barrow, the fowler brothers |
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| bradford, dresser & ferris: live in l.a. (2011 cd, usa, ??) - recorded at tom fowler's house |
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96 |
frank zappa:
road tapes - finlandia hall, helsinki, finland 23, 24 august 1973 (2013, cd, usa, vaulternative records) |
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don preston:
out of the vault |
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102 |
frank
zappa & the mothers: roxy the movie (2015, cd+dvd, eu, eagle vision eagdv050) |
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| 102 | frank
zappa & the mothers: roxy the movie (2015, dvd, eur, eagle vision) |
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| 102 | frank
zappa & the mothers: roxy the movie (2015, blu-ray, eur, eagle vision) |
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104 |
frank zappa:
the crux of the biscuit |
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105 |
frank zappa: frank zappa for president (2016, cd, usa, zappa records zr 20021) |
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109 |
frank zappa:
little dots (2016, cd, usa, zappa records zr20026) |
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| frank zappa: rollo /
portland improvisation (2017, 10", usa, zappa records bpr1230) - record store day release |
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| documentary:
frank zappa - eat that question (2017, dvd, ger, arsenal filmverleih) - includes interviews with frank zappa, tommy mars, arthur barrow, bruce fowler, tom fowler, ed mann, kurt mcgettrick, chad wackerman and robert martin |
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| msm schmidt:
life (2017, cd, germany, laika records) - feat. mike miller, bruce fowler, walt fowler |
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semi-official releases
| frank zappa and captain beefheart:
providence college, rhode island, april 26, 1975 (2014, 2cd, uk, keyhole kh2cd9028) |
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| frank
zappa: the muffin man goes to college (live) (2015, spotify, --, sonic boom) = 1975/04/26 providence concert |
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concerts, radio- & tv-appearances
filmography
1991 psycho iv- the beginning (tv)
1991 backdraft- backdraft (orchestration)
1992 radio flyer- radio flyer (orchestration)
1992 toys (orchestration)
1992 the power of one (orchestration)
1992 a league of their own (orchestration)
1994 speed (orchestration)
1994 flintstones [ost] orchestration
1994 i'll do anything
1994 the lion king
1994 renaissance man (orchestrator)
1995 man of the house (orchestrator)
1996 broken arrow (conductor)
1996 the rock (orchestrator, conductor)
1996 twister (orchestrator)
1996 all dogs go to heaven 2 (orchestration)
1996 short cuts
1996 the fan (orchestrator)
1997 smila's sense for snow (orchestration)
1997 crimson tide (conudctor, orchestration)
1997 face off [ost] (orchestration)
1997 conspiracy theory
1997 dante's peak (orchestrator)
1997 con air (orchestrator)
1997 as good as it gets (orchestrator)
1998 antz- (orchestrator)
1998 the prince of egypt
1998 the thin red line
1998 the rugrats movie
1998 almost heroes (music supervisor)
2000 the adventures of rocky and bullwinkle (orchestration)
2000 chicken run (orchestration)
2001 hannibal ("musical consultant" and "lead trombonist")
2001 shrek (orchestration)
2001 the royal tenenbaums (trombone)
random notes
Son of famous jazz educator Dr. William L. Fowler, Bruce is an extraordinary trombonist whose jazz credits are based in L.A. studios. Played well with Frank Zappa, and as a member of the raucous Fowler Brothers Band.
-- Michael G. Nastos
Bruce is currently a member of Banned From Utopia.
Bruce Fowler plays on:
Woody Herman -- Somewhere, 1969 w/ Bill Chase, Sal Nistico, Ronnie Cuber (who
is on FZ's "Zappa In New York")
Joey Sellars -- Something for Nothing, 1989 w/ Kei Akagi
I remembered the title to the Bruce Fowler/Phil Teele LP
(soon to be CD).
It's called 'Synthetic Division'. Jolly odd it is too...
Bruce has two solo CDs:
"Entropy", 1993
Straight-ahead jazz-rock. First, the one that really knocked my socks off
is the one that you (DH) already have - "Entropy". Did ya notice that Tom is on
acoustic bass all the way on this. In fact there is no electric anything; no
guitar, no synths..
HEY! *Its the Fowler Brothers Unpluged*. The song "A Bash Fit For a King" is
worth the whole price of the disk. Try sitting through that one without moving.
(For extra credit: What old American TV show theme song gets quoted by the
piano at the beginning of the last section of this tune?). This disk goes on my
top shelf.
Bruce Fowler: Trombone and Words
Steve Fowler: Also Sax, Flute
Tom Fowler: Acoustic Bass, Violin
Walt Fowler: Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Albert Wing: Tenor Sax
Chester Thompson: Drums
Billy Childs: Piano
Kei Akagi: Piano
Kurt McGettrick: Baritone Sax, Eb Contrabass Clarinet
Phil Teele: Bass Trombone
Suzette Moriarty: French Horn
"Ants Can Count" , 1990
This baby to me comes across as more of a collection of brass chamber
ensemble pieces than a jazz thing. Eight out of the eleven cuts are sans rhythm
section and feature, besides Bruce and his brothers, Steve only plays sax on one
tune and sticks to flute elsewhere.
If you were to get me in a headlock and not let go till I said something
critical about this CD then maybe after a while I'd blurt out that the
production could have been better and that a couple of tunes end a tad abruptly.
Otherwise, to my ears this is a good listen. Check out Bruce doing circular
breathing on the solo number called "One Man One Bone".
I will never understand how anybody can do that.
Bruce Fowler: trombone
Walt Fowler: trumpet
Steve Fowler: flute & alto sax
Suzette Moriarty: horn
Phil Teele: bass trombone
Ed Fowler: piano & bass
Tom Fowler: bass
Ed Mann: percussion (two tracks)
Billy Mintz: drums (two tracks)
Chester Thompson: drums (one track)
Clark Woodard: drums (one track)
Bruce Fowler appears in the Robert Altman film Short Cuts, which is currently showing, at least in NYC. Bruce has the part of the trombone player, oddly enough, in a small jazz combo in an LA nightclub called the Low Note. He's in quite a few scenes throughout the movie, and is seen and heard playing the trombone, but has no spoken lines. The movie has an all-star cast; among the other musicians in the film are Tom Waits and Huey Lewis, who both have substantial speaking roles. That band also included Greg Cohen on bass and NRBQ's Terry Adams on piano.
Bruce is credited with orchestration on the sound track for the soon-to-be-released Lion King (this is a Disney animation with music by Elton John, who also sings the title cut, and lyrics by Tim Rice).
For those of you interested in obscure session work by
former Zappa sidemen here's a new one for you to check out.
"Rhythm of the Pride Lands", "Music inspired by Disney's The Lion King"
"Warthog Rhapsody"
Arranged by Hans Zimmer and Bruce Fowler
Alto Sax: Steve Fowler
Tenor Sax: Albert Wing
Trumpet: Walter Fowler
Clarinet: Kurt McGettrick
That's not the only thing he's been up to. This film thing seems to be Bruce's new trend---he was also responsible for orchestrating a musak-style version of "Superfreak" for the movie "Batman Returns" a couple of years ago.
I saw his name in the credits of "Speed" last night. I think he was one of three orchestrators/musical directors/soloists, I can't remember exactly.
I saw Bruce playing in Vinnie Golea's (sp?) band at the L.A. Art museum a couple weeks back. The music was interesting space-jazz that I enjoyed, but my jazz-fan (and Fowler/Zappa fan) friend who came along, was not as receptive. Very long pieces. In fact, I think the last set may have been one long song.
Bruce Fowler also did some work with Oingo Boingo in the '80s. Check out the "Boingo Alive" and "Dead Man's Party" CDs. There may be others, but since my collection is small, I cant' say for sure.
When I saw the movie 'Shortcuts', Altman's film, the trombone player in the jazz band reminded me of Bruce Fowler -- and he really was it.
One thing it doesn't mention is Bruce Fowler's appearance on a couple of episodes of "Chicago Hope" last year. He didn't appear in the credits, but he played a trombone player in a band consisting of mental patients.
kevin schMidt said:
Bruce Fowler played on Captain Beefheart's album, "Doc at the Radar Station".
From: Patrick Neve
(splat@darkwing.uoregon.edu)
I've got an LP by a Portland group called "Slack" featuring Bruce's playing.
They were a good funk/punk outfit circa '89. I saw them a few times, but Bruce
wasn't with them for the gigs. The album has some good songs on it, and it's
called "Bigger Than Breakfast."
He also plays on two tracks of Arthur Barrow's "Music For Listening" CD, and a cut from "Eyebrow Razor."
From: WILLIAM L FOWLER
Date: Wed, 06 May 1998
I'm feeling fine now that Bruce Fowler has just been nominated for a Tony award
in orchestration for the Broadway show "The Lion King."
Go, Frank's former members!
From: Dan Watkins
(dan@wwisp.com)
Bruce Fowler is credited for playing horns on three songs on the 1996 debut,
self-titled album by a relatively new punk/ska band called Goldfinger.
The band has made a second album too, but unfortunately, Bruce doesn't appear on
it.
From:
chickyraptor@hotmail.com
A few years ago I saw Bruce on the Chicago Hope show. He was playing a trombone
player in a band of mental patients
From: WILLIAM L FOWLER
(wlfowler@ix.netcom.com)
Bruce's brother, Tom, was the bass player in that Chicago Hope show.
From: Lewis Saul
(lsaul@azstarnet.com)
Subject: Re: TV Guide Award Show Music
So -- did anyone see who the musical director was?
From: WILLIAM L FOWLER
(wlfowler@ix.netcom.com)
Bruce Fowler was the music arranger. And he played the rock trombone solo when
the gal from the Angel show went up to get her award.
The Theremin player was none other than Bob Moog, inventor of the
synthesizer!!! He was in town for the NAMM show. Bruce's brother, Walt, was
also in the band.
Zappa alumni do get around...
Yours,
Dad Bill
From: "georges m. bouhey"
(georges@pond.net)
I played in a band called "Ocean of Air" w/Tom and Bruce in early seventies, in
Salt Lake City. We had a fusion band with Tom and Bruce (Drums, Bass, Guitar,
Trombone) and we also had "club" band that played Park City most of the winter.
additional informants:
J. van Kemenade
Hoodoo
Brian A. Miller
Charles Ulrich
Johannes Wijffels
Jonathan Kay
John Scialli
Jonathan Kay
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