Patrizia Ferrara & Dean Bowman

Vocalists Dean Bowman & Patrizia Ferrara formed a duet in January 2005, to perform a mixed program of jazz and creative works as well as soul standards that explore the textures of improvised and traditional music for male and female voices. Patrizia Ferrara is an accomplished vocalist and arranger based in New York and Vienna. Based in New York, Dean Bowman is renowned for his vocal work with Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy, Don Byron, Jane Bunnett, Dewey Redman, and Screaming Headless Torsos.
Rooted in the tradition of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, the Bey Sisters, and Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway, Dean Bowman and Patrizia Ferrara combine the music of bebop and post-bop vocalese with gospel and soul. Their original songs and contemporary spirituals includes various the elements of piano jazz and modern music, both with piano and acapella. The duet has performed at Porgy and Bess and at open-air Cityfestival in Vienna, IG Jazzfestival Vienna, 55 Bar, Sweet Rhythem, Mo Pitkins and Bowery Poetry Club in New York.
“We started out as believers in each other. We had great respect. The music flowed from there. It’s how we are able to work together well”, says Dean. Patrizia concurs, adding, “Most singers I worked with don’t want to work so hard. They want to take it easy. They want me to sing by myself while they take a break.” The two found equal footing on this common ground, and Patrizia’s considerable arranging skills put Dean’s limber voice to maximum use. Conversely, Dean contributes arrangements of his own, putting Patrizia’s harmonic memory to task. “Dean is strict,” Pat says. Dean adds, “We enjoy working together. Music flows from our experiences and we’re pretty unabashed about our experiences.”
After exchanging emails and music files, Dean Bowman and Patrizia Ferrara met face-to-face in November 2004 in Vienna before a Screaming Headless Torsos concert. They talked about music, and about singing together. They discovered in each other a mutual passion for singing, harmonies, and arranging for voices. While both had worked in various vocal ensembles, neither had worked with anyone so committed to doing vocal jazz, vocalese, and vocal arranging. Dean was attracted to Patrizia’s intelligent and arresting arrangements of standards, as well as her vocalese lyrics. Patrizia was delighted someone so accomplished was willing and able to sing her arrangements. For both, it’s a wonderful creative relationship.
Each has penned lyrics for standards rarely performed by singers. Patrizia has a lyric for George Russell’s “Honesty” that is superb. Dean for his part has performed his lyric for Eric Dolphy’s “Miss Ann” with the Torsos for years. Dean also wrote a lyric for Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s solo on John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”. Patrizia meanwhile has a lyric for Charles Mingus’s “Sue’s Changes.”