Tampa Bay jazz composer Chuck Owen is marking 30 years of his big band Jazz Surge with a run of Florida performances this week, bringing in guest heavyweights like trumpeter Randy Brecker and drummer-composer Terri Lyne Carrington for a celebration decades in the making. The seven-time Grammy-nominated ensemble is set to premiere new material ahead of recording its eighth album, closing out a milestone year for the 71-year-old former University of South Florida professor.
According to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Owen is a Tampa Bay jazz composer who has been nominated for seven Grammys and previously taught at USF. The outlet reports Jazz Surge will play material Owen has written over the past 18 months as part of a four-night run of concerts, with the bandleader telling the publication, “I've gone all in on this project,” and adding that he is “not getting any younger.”
The anniversary tour is scheduled to run Sept. 24 through 27, with stops at the Reilly Arts Center in Ocala, the New Tampa Performing Arts Center in Tampa, and Pilars Jazz Loft in Winter Garden, according to Chuck Owen's official site. The Winter Garden stop on Sept. 27 will include both a matinee and an evening performance, the same source notes.
A Milestone Setlist Built for the Studio
Each stop on the tour will feature the premiere of new music from the Surge's upcoming eighth album alongside a handful of classics chosen to mark the band's three-decade run, per the same site. Once the tour wraps, the band is scheduled to head into the studio to record the anniversary project. Owen also plans a bi-monthly video series beginning in February 2026 to share insights into the project and his creative process, the site states.
The Tampa performances carry extra weight for local audiences: the New Tampa Arts Center notes the band returns to Tampa Bay for the first time in nearly four years. The venue describes the shows as two performances hosted by the Tampa Jazz Club, with an approximate runtime of two hours and tickets ranging from $10 to $50 depending on seat selection, according to New Tampa Arts Center. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay separately reports that tickets for the Chuck Owen and Jazz Surge shows start at $40, with student tickets starting at $10.
Star Power on the Bandstand
The guest lineup reads like a who's-who of contemporary jazz. Trumpeter Randy Brecker headlines the New Tampa Arts Center's listing for the engagement, and Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reports the band's roster also includes trumpeters Frank Greene and Clay Jenkins, drummer-composer Terri Lyne Carrington, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, violinist Sara Caswell and saxophonist Dave Pietro. Chuck Owen's own website lists Brecker and vocalist Kate McGarry as special guests for the Sept. 24 and 25 shows, with Carrington, harmonica player Grégoire Maret and McGarry joining for the Sept. 26 and 27 performances.
Scheduling details for the New Tampa stop have varied across listings. Chuck Owen's site and Creative Loafing Tampa Bay both point to performances at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25 and 26, while a listing on Showpass describes the band performing two shows at that venue on Sept. 26 alone. Chuck Owen's schedule identifies Brecker for Friday night, Sept. 25. The discrepancy over exact dates and guest pairings remains unresolved across the available listings.
A 19-Piece Powerhouse With National Reach
Jazz Surge is built as a 19-piece all-star ensemble that draws more than a third of its musicians from across the country, according to the Reilly Arts Center. That national reach has helped earn the band recognition well beyond Florida; New York Music Daily has called it one of the best large jazz ensembles in the country, a distinction repeated by the New Tampa Arts Center and Reilly Arts Center.
Owen's own résumé backs up the acclaim surrounding his band. His official biography lists five individual Grammy nominations and a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, according to his electronic press kit. He also returned to USF in spring 2025 for his first concert with the university's Jazz Ensemble since retiring, per chuckowen.com, and he has additional educational and performance activity on the calendar, including a University of North Texas residency that is set to culminate in a concert of his music.
For Tampa Bay jazz fans, this week's run offers a rare chance to catch a hometown bandleader testing out new work before it's committed to tape, backed by a cast of guest musicians who rarely share a single stage. Whatever the final word on exact dates and pairings, the celebration marks Jazz Surge's 30th anniversary and recognizes a group that would go on to earn seven Grammy nominations and a reputation as one of the country's premier big bands.
