Leslie Bowe
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
Lisa Vogl
(231) 357-4907
e-mail: lisa@lesliebowe.com
- Public Relations
"I like your songs and your style... it's certainly significantly better than much of the music I hear at the AC format level."
Mike McVay
President
McVay Media Radio Consulting
- McVay Media
"If I had to sum up Leslie Bowe’s latest CD release party in one word it would have to be “Class”. The band, the music and the performance that night were first class. It can’t get any better. Anyone who hasn’t seen Les perform has missed one of the best talents in Pittsburgh today.
Les’s latest CD “Through My Eyes” is a powerful music journey filled with love, soul and emotion guiding you through each tune. Having known and worked with Les for a few years now I can say that both Les and his music are genuine and his songwriting comes straight from the soul.
My hat goes off to Les for a magnificent job both with his powerful songwriting and musical arrangements."
Van Stragand
President
Pittsburgh Songwriters Association
- Pittsburgh Songwriter's Association
"The first time I heard Leslie's music I knew it was something special. His vocals have so much emotion you feel the words. And the music has a smooth groove that draws you into it. Leslie should be a star!"
Greg Gillispie
Program Director
WWSW 94.5 FM & WBGG
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. - WWSW 94.5 FM & WBGG
Leslie Bowe - "Through My Eyes" - From the opening track of this 10 song CD, "Mr Man", I was incredibly impressed with the soul and lyrical intelligence of Leslie Bowe's music. It's clear that the human condition drives the music in the project, and Leslie has become the very first Native American to arrive in my mail with a CD and WOW! As I listened further, I was absolutely entranced with his sensual, melodic vocal expression. The whole CD maintains an earthy, soulful, relaxing and enticing mood. This is a project of great taste and expertly engineered instrumentation. And, is clearly a production of great worth to the world...period. The cut "Freedom" was deliberately thought provoking..almost to tears, and I actually listened to it twice before proceeding through the remainder of the disc. Leslie Bowe is one of many passionate songwriters that attempt to speak to the heart, but one of even fewer that actually reach it. I want more.
CHT pick: "Freedom" Reviewed By Annette Warner
- A. Warner Entertainment
The title track shows Leslie Bowe as a singer that is in the Edwin McCain style of indie rock. There is a certain timeless nature to eir music that will increase listenership, for sure. However hopeful and smooth Bowe’s vocals are on this track, the fact remains that Bowe brings a delightful despair for anyone that is listening to the disc. This same soulful sound is present during “Fall”, which has more of a vocals on the vocals of Bowe than the instrumentation that plays an integral part in the background. The track positions itself in a smooth jazz meets adult contemporary vein, and even though the song is about six minutes, Bowe makes the time go by quickly.
The more direct approach done by Bowe during “Mr. Man” keeps things interesting. The production of the disc allows for individuals that might pick up this album to go forth and stick this on a radio station or their iPod. There are a lot of individuals that are trying to do exactly what Leslie Bowe is doing on “Gypsy”, but Bowe surpasses all of them with a strong yet flexible approach to the creative process. One has to stick with the track for a few minutes, but “Mr. Man” has a shift in Bowe’s sound that allows for a layered vocal approach to really wow listeners.
One should just keep listening to the entirety of “Gypsy”, starting at track one and listening to the rest of the disc. Each subsequent track on the disc is a stronger effort by Leslie Bowe, and ey just is more and more impressive with each minute that ticks by. There are few direct comparisons that one can make to other artists during the runtime of “Gypsy”. Individuals just need to listen in to the smooth pop, jazz, light rock approach of Bowe and be swept away for the better part of forty-five minutes. Hopefully the right people find this disc and can give Bowe the publicity that ey deserves. I know, after listening to this disc, that I will be paying much more attention to the travails of Leslie Bowe. Here’s to hoping that ey can cut a few more albums that share the same quality of “Gypsy”. The talent and skill is present, but success on Bowe’s part is dependent on whether ey can come up with the same inspired music that is created with every track on “Gypsy”.
Top Tracks: It’s You, Mr. Man
Rating: 7.3/10
[JMcQ]
- www.neufutur.com/ James McQuiston
If Donny Hathaway had played guitar rather than piano, he may have made music like this. Especially on "Here With Me" Leslie Bowes channels a hint of Hathaway's soulful spirit. Others might likewise draw comparisons to Sam Cooke. "Gypsy" is Bowe's third singer-songwriter release, and is totally earnest and genuine.
© Alan Fark
- www.minor7th.com
LESLIE BOWE – GYPSY: Leslie Bowe started singing both harmony and melody at an early age. In college, he learned piano and song craft. Today, Bowe is a performer, producer and writer.Gypsy is Leslie’s third release featuring ten soft rockers. His music is acoustic based in settings that are laid back and enhanced by potent piano parts. Bowe’s thoughtful lyrics are based on personal experiences adding to the sincerity of his songs. Leslie has a silky, soothing vocal style. Clearly, he is a soulful singer committed to his art. The CD as a whole is good but I particularly like the dramatic and sad ‘Fall’ and the piano and expressive vocals on ‘Borderline’. Gypsy is crisp and clean with no need of overdubs as Leslie’s voice and mellow music strikes just the right note!
• Recommended Tracks: (2,8) [USA/IL 2006 - web]
(Review by Laura Turner Lynch for Kweevak.com) - www.Kweevak.com
Singer/keyboardist Leslie Bowe covers affairs of the heart on his full-length, Through My Eyes, with help from a top-notch back-up band. His soulful vocal style works well on the romantic pop of “It’s You” as well as the melancholy “I’ll Be Waiting.” The smooth jazz approach seems odd for the politically charged “Mr. Man,” so Bowe wisely added a more effective acoustic version featuring just himself and guitarist Dan Shields. (www.lesliebowe.com)
– Terrence Flamm
http://illinoisentertainer.com/2006/05/31/local-cd-reviews-7/
- Illinois Entertainer Review by Terrence Flamm
Discography
Songs can be streamed from lesliebowe.com -
myspace.com/lesliebowe
CDBaby.com/all/lesliebowe or digstation.com/lesliebowe
Photos
Bio
A Pittsburgh, PA native, Leslie was drawn to the acapella gospel and '60's music his father and uncle's sang when growing up. When they realized he could handle both melody and harmony with equal ease, he became part of the group. Those Christian soulful roots shaped who he is as a person, are heard in him and influence his music today. Leslie has admired the following artists and songwriters in his musical journey: Ben Harper, Zac Brown, Seal, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Bunny Ruggs, Billy Joel & Elton John.
As an artist, Leslie Bowe has released 4 independent CDs: "Wings of your Dreams", "Through My Eyes", "Gypsy", and the "Color of Sound". Over the years, he has opened or shared the stage with such artists as Ben Harper, Patty Griffin, Maxi Priest, Third World, The Wailers, & UB 40, just to name a few.
As a songwriter, Leslie was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2008 Tunesmith Songwriting Contest in Nashville, TN for the song, "Livin' Large in a Small Town" (co-written by Scott Sanford and Linda M.), and the Grand Prize Winner of the Stagenoise 2007 International Songwriting Contest for the song "Here I Am" (co-written by Nancy Vogl). Leslie was also the 2008 Second Place Winner in the "Song of Peace Songwriting Competition" for the Tipperary Peace Convention held in Tipperary, Ireland for the song, "If Only for Today" (co-written by Geoff Thurman & Nancy Vogl). Leslie was also a Finalist for Heineken's 2008 Red Star Soul Independent Achiever Award in Chicago, IL. In addition, while attending the University of Pittsburgh his song, "Step to the Challenge" was chosen as the official Pennsylvania state theme song for the Special Olympics his senior year.
Leslie has also performed multiple shows for the Sunday Writer's Night series at the legendary Bluebird Cafe, and has sung our National Anthem for the Pittsburgh Pirates for many years.
Leslie Bowe...Fresh. Authentic. Soulful.
Band Members
Links
