J. Cowell

Born in SF, raised in Richmond, then Oakland, Joel Cowell's concept for music has been a valued and praised one ever since he was born. The minute his late grandmother's piano came into the family household, he found himself attached to the sound and percussiveness of the instrument at an early age. Joel, better known as either ‘J’ or now ‘JBirdOnDaKeyz,’ had been nurtured by his parents to appreciate all kinds of music while growing up, and eventually became serious to start his piano studies independently at fifteen. He then became very interested in jazz while attending Berkeley High. Although his potential was very much present during this time, Joel was much too late to develop for a position in the school's prestigious jazz ensemble. However, Joel had been mentored, supported, and inspired by many of the band's teachers and then students and alumni, including Charles Hamilton, Benny Green, Joshua Redman, Peter Apfelbaum, Rodney Franklin, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jonathan Finlayson, Dayna Stephens, Thomas Pridgen, Colin Hogan, Charles and Tom Altura, Justin Brown, and Valentino Pellizzer, to name a few. Before moving way from the Bay Area, Joel studied and performed as a student of the Oaktown Jazz Workshop under the direction of Khalil Shaheed, who led him to study jazz piano with the late Dr. Ed Kelly, Rudi Mwongozi, and Kevin Stewart. Joel graduated from Enterprise High with honors from the music department's directors, Dan Neece and Deborah Divine. He recieved acceptance from the Department of Jazz at University of Nevada, Reno, and is currently studying with its faculty, which includes professors David Ake and Peter Epstein. Joel has also gained a knack for producing music of many genres for him and other artists, including his family which consists of his four younger brothers.I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.1