The year was 1972 and Charles Owens’ reputation as one of the most gifted and versatile young musicians in Los Angeles was growing by the day.

At the time, Owens — who’d already earned attention for his sterling work with drum legend Buddy Rich and Latin-jazz great Mongo Santamaria — was a member of an all-star Anglo-American band led by English blues king John Mayall.

But that didn’t stop former San Diego music iconoclast Frank Zappa from seeking to lure fellow former San Diegan Owens away from Mayall.

“I could have stayed with Mayall and made ‘Grand Theft Auto’ dough!” recalled Owens, who appears in the Oscar-winning film “La La Land” and teaches a weekly jazz performance class at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music.


“But I chose Frank, because his music was much more challenging. We were playing all types of time signatures and it was one of the best musical periods of my life.”

Owens, who grew up in San Diego and counted fellow saxophonist Arthur Blythe as one of his closest friends here, chuckled.

“I got that gig with Frank because he wanted a tenor sax player who also played oboe,” Owens said from his home in Los Angeles. “And I just happened to have studied oboe at SDSU and was playing it in Los Angeles.”

He was recommended to Zappa by yet another former San Diegan, jazz sax luminary Harold Land.


But tenor sax and oboe were just the tip of Owens’ musical arsenal. The demand for him in Los Angeles, New York and beyond stemmed from the fact Owens could perform with equal skill on alto, soprano and baritone saxophones, piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe, English horn and bassoon.

In addition to his impressive work as a solo artist, his credits include performing on albums by Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, B.B. King, Dr. John, Terry Callier, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Michael Bublé, Eddie Harris and San Diego’s rollicking Jeannie & Jimmy Cheatham and The Sweet Baby Blues Band.

“I still play with the same enthusiasm I’ve always had,” said Owens, 80, who performs Friday at the all-ages Dizzy’s. He’ll be accompanied by former Miles Davis/Roberta Flack bassist Marshall Hawkins, guitarist Bob Boss and drummer Richard Sellers.

“What makes it fun is that I’m an old guy who can still play. I don’t have any back pain and my knees don’t hurt. Some of my buddies are in wheelchairs — or they’ve passed away from cancer or smoking and drinking too much.


“’I’m blessed. I’m still alive, still have fun playing and each day is a new adventure. I can’t express how happy I am to get up and play. It’s such a joy! So come out to Dizzy’s and see an old dude having a good time with some of his friends.”

Dizzy’s was also where the late San Diego jazz legend Daniel Jackson, Owens’ longtime mentor, regularly performed. As a teenager, Owens played sax in Tommy Wilkins & The House-Rockers, a raucous R&B and rock band that also featured Ted Picou.

Fellow saxophonist Blythe played in the rival band The Blue Notes, and he and Owens would often engage in friendly musical “duels” to try and out-do each other on the bandstand. The two would also perform in the weekly Sunday jam sessions at the Douglas Hotel in downtown San Diego.

While attending SDSU — then known as San Diego State College — in the mid-1950s, Owens would jam with fellow saxophone student Gary LeFebvre during the day. At night, he would play gigs with trumpeter Fro Brigham’s band.


“I met Daniel when I got over to Logan Elementary, and he was like a mentor to all of us. He knew all the chords and I learned ‘Take the “A” Train’ and ‘Tea for Two’ from him. He’d come by my house and he’d play piano and I’d play sax. Then, I’d play piano and he’d play sax.

“Anything I needed to know about any bebop songs, I’d ask Daniel. He was swinging already back then and looked hip. He looked like a jazz musician, even in high school! And Teddy was very encouraging. He helped me learn how to solo and was very patient with me. Sometimes, I’d get so discouraged that I couldn’t play like Charlie Parker, and Ted would say: ‘It doesn’t come overnight.”

Owens spent years teaching at music at UCLA and UC Irvine, and co-founded the Los Angeles Wind College with John Carter, Red Callender and James Newton.

His past students include such noted saxophonists as Kamasi Washington, Azar Lawrence and Kool & The Gang/Gerald Wilson Orchestra veteran Louis Van Taylor.


Are there certain qualities and skills Owens tries to impart in all of his students?

“I want them to be able to read well, increase their range and be aware of who they are playing with,” he replied.

“I have had the privilege of working with people like Azar, who was 18 or 19 when he came to me. He played the music and — after a couple of lessons — I said to him: ‘Man, you ought to just go to New York, because you got it!’ Then, I hooked him up with Elvin Jones.

“Kamasi was going to UCLA when I was still in charge of teaching the saxophone classes there. I wanted him to increase his range a little. There’s always something you can add to someone’s playing. I wanted him to be able to play higher, above F and above regular written notes. I just tweaked his playing a little, because Kamasi was a complete product already. When he rose up to play, you had better get out of the way, because he’d knock you over!”


Owens’ most recent album, “Joy,” came out in 2011. It teams him with pianist Mulgrew Miller, bass great Ron Carter and drummer Lewis Nash.

“It cost me an arm and a leg to record it at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in New Jersey, but I’m elated with how it turned out,” Owens said.

“I want to do as much playing as I can, especially since I’m semi-retired. I stopped most of my teaching to concentrate on improving myself. I’m getting better. I’m still improving and excited about playing.”

Charles Owens on working with …

Frank Zappa: “Frank was brilliant. Anything he wrote out for anybody else he could play on guitar, if you needed to hear your part.”


Marvin Gaye: “He was a blessing. On the last album I did with him (‘Here, My Dear’), he sang everybody’s parts — what he wanted the drummer to play, the bass, the piano, the saxophone. He was special. When it came time to soloing, he didn’t care what you played. At that time, I thought I was Archie Shepp or Albert Ayler and played completely outside solos. Marvin didn’t bat an eye, and he made it all work.”

Buddy Rich: “I was mystified by Buddy’s drum technique. He could play a 9-stroke roll on his snare drum and a 9-stroke roll with his foot on his bass drum. No other drummer in the world could do that! And he was the first white guy I met who wasn’t prejudiced. He was the coolest cat, a genius drummer, and a great psychologist who knew how to inspire people.”

The Charles Owens Quartet, featuring Marshall Hawkins, Bob Boss and Richard Sellers

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Dizzy’s, Arias Hall (behind the Musician’s Association building), 1717 Morena Blvd., Bay Park


Tickets: $20

Phone: (858) 270-7467

Online: dizzysjazz.com


george.varga@sduniontribune.com

Twitter @georgevarga