Dennis Rowland is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

vocalist born and raised in Detroit.

Career

Having grown up in a household of jazz enthusiasts, Rowland developed an appreciation for jazz music at an early age. At the age of five or six Rowland heard the vocals of Joe Williams of the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

, which has influenced his approach to singing ever since. In the early 1970s, Rowland worked as a singer and actor in Detroit. In 1977 Count Basie hired him to sing on tour, filling the same role his idols Joe Williams and

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...

had occupied. For Rowland, it was a dream come true, and he toured with Basie for the next seven years. During his time with Basie, he had the chance to share the stage with Sarah Vaughan,

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

.Carr, et al.; pp. 682-683 Rowland was seen as Jimmy Baker in the film '' Real Gone Cat'' directed by Robert Sucato.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Rhyme, Rhythm & Reason'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, 1995) * ''Get Here'' (Concord Vista 1996) * ''Now Dig This! A Vocal Celebration of Miles Davis'' (Concord Jazz, 1997)

Credits

References

Sources

* American jazz singers American soul musicians African-American musicians American rhythm and blues singers Living people 1948 births Concord Records artists 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people {{US-jazz-singer-stub