Calvin Owens
April 23, 1929 – February 21, 2008
Calvin Owens was a respected jazz and blues trumpeter and band leader from Houston, Texas. He started learning to play the trumpet at the age of 13, and after graduating from high school, he turned professional by touring with a vaudeville act. In 1953, Owens began working with B.B. King, eventually becoming his bandleader. He played with him until 1957, when he landed a job at Peacock Records as a session player. Owens went on to play with the likes of T-Bone Walker and Junior Parker. In the late ’70s, he reunited with King for another handful of years, contributing to his Grammy winning, Blues ‘n’ Jazz album. On February 21, 2008, Calvin Owens, 78, died of kidney failure while recuperating from a surgery to treat liver cancer.
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