Jimmy Owens (musician) - 1990s

1990s

In 1990, the Jazz Musicians' Emergency Fund was founded to help individual musicians with medical, financial, and housing assistance after Jamil Nasser and Jimmy Owens presented this idea to the board. Both Jamil and Jimmy felt it was very important to help individual jazz musicians rather than organizations. This program not only provided financial assistance, but it also offered counseling in career development as well as substance abuse. In that same year, Owens took a part-time position as an instructor at the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program where he taught private lessons, the business aspects of the music industry and various ensemble classes. In the 1990s, he attended quite a few jazz festivals in Austria, England and in the U.S., while serving as a guest soloist to a variety of bands’ performances in America and Europe. In 1996, Bob Crenshaw, Jamil Nasser, Benny Powell and Owens helped to revitalize the Jazz Advisory Committee at Local 802 in New York City. This particular commission advises Local 802 on the conflicts surrounding most jazz artists and seeks methods of resolution. Owens was also a member of the negotiating committee to secure health and pension benefits, along with schedule wage increases for the faculty at the New School.