Page Text: AUTHOR
Heralded as a “powerhouse of a showman” (Glide Magazine), a “legitimate jazz triple threat“ (Critical Jazz) and drummer who “take[s] a backseat to no one” (The New York Times), performer, author, and educator Ulysses Owens Jr. goes the limit in the jazz world and beyond.
Ulysses’ writing journey began back in October 2016 when he desired to chronicle his touring experiences on the road to his audiences. Partnering with editor Geveryl Robinson, he was able to start finding his voice by starting his blog, “Words from U”, initially making his blog available on his website. He now publishes his blog on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and has over 40,000 followers that view them monthly.
In November 2018, when he was approached by Downbeat Magazine to write a “Masterclass” Piece on what students need to know about being successful post college, and designing their own career. The editors asked Ulysses to expand the piece and featured (2) articles in one: “Designing Your Career, The Missing Link in Jazz Education” and this article became his first published piece. During the height of the Pandemic in June 2020, when musicians were seeking new strategy with regard to navigating the new economic climate when performance art was deemed no longer essential. Jazz Times Magazine reached out to Ulysses, and he penned his second published article titled “Pandemic Entrepreneurship for Jazz Musicians”.
Ulysses was also approached by Hal Leonard Publishing Company and was asked to write a book about the art of playing brushes for new generation drummers. As of May 2020, Ulysses released his new Brush book, “Jazz Brushes for the Modern Drummer, An Essential Guide to the Art of Timekeeping,” and it has been receiving rave reviews globally.
His passion for career development and creative entrepreneurship has taken him around the world as a lecturer helping students identify their purpose, and how to navigate this ever changing terrain entrepreneurially as a creative. Ulysses first published book “The Career Guide for Musicians: Turning Your Talent Into Sustained Success” will be published by Skyhorse Publishing, and distributed by Simon d Schuster, on March 2, 2021.
This is an incredibly exciting moment for Ulysses writing journey, because it started as a mere passion and means for expression. In addition to music, Ulysses states “Writing, is still the most comfortable tool I can express myself through, because the relationship between writing, and music are very much intertwined to me.”