Bowers was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 5, 1989.[2] His father is a film and television writer, and his mother is an executive at DirecTV.[3] Although neither of his parents received more than a high school education,[4] they wanted their son to play the piano, so they played recordings of pianists while he was still in the womb. They sent him to lessons beginning at the age of 4.[3] He had private classical music lessons starting at around the age of 9.[3] He listened to "classic soul records and hip-hop before falling under the spell of jazz, classical music, and film scores."[2] Bowers studied jazz and classical piano at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts[2] where his teachers included Mulgrew Miller and Donald Vega.[5] He studied jazz at Colburn School for Performing Arts.[6] He graduated in 2006[6] then attended Juilliard and obtained a bachelor's and master's degree in jazz performance.[2] While a student, he performed frequently in New York City.[2]
In the same year, Bowers played on Watch the Throne, a Jay Z and Kanye West album.[7] He then toured with Marcus Miller during 2012.[8] He has collaborated with musicians in several genres.[9][10] In late 2013, he recorded his debut album Heroes + Misfits (Concord, 2014).[11] An AllMusic reviewer commented that the pianist was "based in jazz but with an ear for contemporary R&B, film scores, and electronic music".[11] The album premiered at No. 1 on the iTunes Jazz charts.[12] His first film composition was for the 2013 documentary Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me.[13] In 2014, Bowers performed at the International Jazz Day Concert in Japan,[14][15] the Festival de Jazz de Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain,[16] and at the London Jazz Festival.[17]
In 2015, his work on the showtime documentary Kobe Bryant's Muse gained him attention as an up-and-coming composer well-versed in a wide range of compositional styles.[18][7] In the same year, he scored two other Showtime documentaries: I Am Giant about the football player Victor Cruz and Play It Forward about Tony Gonzalez.[7] He was one of six composers invited to the Sundance Composers Lab in 2015.[19] In 2016, Bowers was invited to perform at The White House for the International Jazz Day Concert hosted by President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama.[20]
Between 2020 and 2021, Bowers was involved in several projects. He worked on comedy horror film Bad Hair.[33]
Bowers wrote the score of the 2021 film Space Jam: A New Legacy.[34][35] and the 2022 film Chevalier.[36] In May 2022, the Monterey Jazz Festival commissioned Bowers to compose a work, which he presented that September at the annual event. The piece, Ásylo (Greek for sanctuary), commemorates the 30th anniversary of the nearby Monterey National Marine Sanctuary. Bowers had previously performed at the festival as a high school student for three years starting in 2003.[37][38]
In 2015, Bowers teamed up with the choreographer Kyle Abraham, to create Absent Matter, which premiered at the Joyce Theater in New York City.[43] During the following year, Bowers and Abraham collaborated again on Untitled America for Alvin Ailey.[44][45]
Bowers performed at the White House for the 2016 International Jazz Day, hosted by President of the United States Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.[46] Bowers participated as a composer in the Sundance Film Composers Lab at Skywalker Sound in 2015.[47]
Bowers has paired his music with extensive and immersive dining experiences. In 2016, he was hired by Bang & Olufsen to create a score to accompany a multi-course meal prepared by chef Fredrik Berselius, founder of Aska.[48] In 2017, Krug commissioned Bowers to write compositions inspired by and paired with a signature Krug champagne.[49]
Artistry
In a review of one of his early shows as a bandleader, The New York Times referred to Bowers' playing as "serious, thoughtful, organized, restrained; he made the piano sound good. His set had range and ambition and said something strong, sweet, and normative about phrasing and rhythm in jazz right now."[50]
With Adam Agati (guitar), Burniss Earl Travis II (electric bass), Jamire Williams (drums); some tracks with Casey Benjamin (alto sax, vocoder) added; some tracks with Kenneth Whalum III (tenor sax) added; vocalists added are Chris Turner (3 tracks), Julia Easterlin (1 track), José James (1 track)
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