Ralph Towner

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Ralph Towner (March 1, 1940) was born in Chehalis, Washington into a musical family, his mother a piano teacher and his father a trumpet player. In 1958, Towner started studying at the University of Oregon as an art major, later changing his major to composition. Soon he met bassist Glen Moore who would become a lifelong musical partner in the band Oregon. Inspired by early Bill Evans, Ralph began to incorporate into his own piano style and composition.

In early 1960s Towner started to experiment with classical guitar and this lead him to Vienna to study classical guitar with Karl Scheit. In 1969 Towner moved to New York City and immersed himself in the New York jazz scene. He worked with Jimmy Garrison, Jeremy Steig, and Paul Winter's Winter Consort. He met up with Collin Walcott, Glen Moore, and Paul McCandless, and in 1971 they form "Oregon" band.

In the meantime Towner guested with Weather Report in 1971 and played with Gary Burton a bit during 1974-1975, but mainly has performed and recorded with Oregon extensively for ECM label. In addition he appeared on many other artists recordings for ECM.

Artist website: www.ralphtowner.com

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