# Interview with Ellen Rowe: Vinton’s Cove is dedicated to the combined Rowe and Vinton clans: Video, new CD cover

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2025/11/13/ellen-rowe/
- Published: 2025-11-13T10:40:44+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Written interview with pianist and composer Ellen Rowe – Vinton’s Cove.**

**Jazz Blues European Union: – Thank you for taking the time to have this interview
with Jazz Blues EU. Tell us about your music. When did you start performing?**

**Ellen Rowe: –** I started playing the piano at age 3 and performed with junior
high and high school music groups, including jazz piano in jazz ensembles and as
a choir accompanist,  and flute and bassoon in bands and orchestras. My high school
jazz quintet started playing gigs when I was 16 years old.

**What do you consider to be your hometown and how does that affect your music?**

My hometown is Ridgefield, CT and I guess the fact that it was not diverse at all,
mainly white people of European descent meant that I was exposed to a lot of classical,
folk and rock music early on and didn’t start hearing Black jazz until I started
studying with a private jazz piano teacher who had hung out with Monk and Bud Powell
in New York City.

**What performers have been your inspiration?**

Bill Evans was my first major musical hero, but after that I would say Herbie Hancock
and now that I live outside of Detroit, the Detroit pianists like Barry Harris, 
Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones and Terry Pollard. Two other big influences have been
Kenny Wheeler and Joni Mitchell.

**What do you find most challenging about being an independent artist in today’s
music industry?**

I think trying to get gigs at the bigger jazz clubs and festivals when you don’t
have a huge name or a large label behind you is the most challenging.

**What do you base your success on? **

I’ve been lucky to have had wonderful artists to play and record with in the Ann
Arbor/Detroit area and some great friends and artists in New York and other places
who are willing to come out here and record my music. I have a lovely following 
of folks here in this area who support me at concerts and have also been lucky to
have been able to hire fabulous PR people like Lydia Liebman to help get attention
for my music. We are also blessed to have several wonderful Jazz radio stations 
here in Michigan, including our fabulous local station WEMU. The University of Michigan,
where I teach, has also been very supportive of my recording projects and touring.

**Can you talk about your experiences collaborating with other artists or musicians?
How does it influence your creative process?**

My last two releases have featured artists that I have a special connection with
who have inspired both my writing and my playing. My “Momentum” octet album featured
players like Ingrid Jensen, Allison Miller, Tia Fuller, Marion Hayden, Virginia 
Mayhew, Lisa Parrott and Melissa Gardiner, all of whom are good friends and remarkable
players. When you know you have artists like that to write for the sky is the limit!
I also kept their sounds and soloing styles in mind when i wrote the music.

**What was your latest musical release?**

“Vinton’s Cove” is a quartet album featuring saxophonist Mike Sakash that also includes
guest vocalist Sunny Wilkinson. The album release happened Oct. 30 and the official
digital/streaming release date is Nov. 21

**Do you have any news to share? Could you share the story behind your latest new
CD ELLEN ROWE – Vinton’s Cove and what inspired its creation?**

Liner Notes – “Vinton’s Cove”   Ellen Rowe Quartet featuring Mike Sakash, saxophonist
and special guest vocalist Sunny Wilkinson.

Vinton’s Cove is located in Maine, but not the touristy, coastal part of Maine that
most people are familiar with. It is located instead on Kezar Lake, a nine-mile-
long jewel tucked in halfway up the Maine/New Hampshire border and is the site of
our family cabin, built in the mid 1950’s. Several of the pieces on this album were
either written there or were inspired by the nature there, including the title track,“
The Loons of Vinton’s Cove”, which was written in tribute to the pair of Common 
Loons that have tried to nest there for the last five years. Unfortunately, their
attempts have been unsuccessful so far due to egg-grabbing raccoons. A group of 
loon experts and enthusiasts known as the “Loon Rangers” build floating raft nests,
patrol the lake checking on loon pairs and nests and generally providing advocacy
and education for lake residents. This tune is also written in honor of their efforts!

“Refractions” was inspired by the different ways in which light refracts in a prism
or in water (thinking about the sunlight on our cove, for example); I tried to explore
ways in which a single note can seemingly “refract”, change color or resolve in 
different directions, depending on its relationship to the given chord at that moment.
Mike Sakash’s soprano sax on this is exquisite and captures the mood perfectly. “
Clipped In Blues” was written after an embarrassing (and only slightly painful) 
bike accident that occurred while I was chatting with a neighbor at the end of my
driveway but forgot that I still had one foot clipped into the pedals and fell over
attempting to dismount. I’ve painted not-so-subtle imagery of the event into the
piece.  On “The Phoenix” I got to collaborate with my great friend Sunny Wilkinson,
extraordinary vocalist, lyricist, educator and potter. She provided wonderful lyrics
for the tune and perfectly captured the spirit and energy of the piece in her performance.

Kenny Wheeler is one of my musical heroes. A remarkable trumpeter and flugelhornist,
composer and arranger, he was one of the most humble and unassuming people I have
ever known. “Kind Folk” is a perfect example of his ability to craft beautiful melodies
and chords that make perfect sense but move in unexpected ways.  We feature our 
great bassist Dennis Carroll on this one as well as Mike, this time on alto sax.“
Ebb & Flow” is a showcase for drummer Pete Siers who has been with me on all but
one of my albums. I am so fortunate that he lives less than two miles away from 
me! He and his wife Steph helped inspire me to get into long distance running and
high-altitude mountaineering (thanks guys!).

I grew up listening to Carole King, Carly Simon, Judy Collins and of course, Joni
Mitchell. Reworking songs that are as iconic as “Both Sides Now” can be a dangerous
proposition, but this was done with great love and respect, and I’d like to think
she would approve if she ever got to hear it. Speaking of iconic tunes, “All The
Things You Are” has always been one of my favorite tunes to improvise over, even
if the melody itself is not especially inspiring. I have given it a slightly different
twist by cleverly (if I do say so myself) reversing the direction of the time-honored
Parker/Gillespie intro and allowing that to set the tone for the treatment. “Sylvan
Way” is the very first tune that I ever committed to paper and played with others.
I actually wrote it at our cabin on Vinton’s Cove and it is the title of my first
CD, recorded back in 2001. Once again, Sunny Wilkinson provides lyrics that perfectly
capture the mood that I intended. We opted to do this duo to celebrate our great
friendship and musical sympatico. We close the album with our arrangement of “I’ll
Remember April”. While I provided the treatment of the melody, Dennis provided the
nice new set of changes that we improvise over initially.

It would be an understatement to say that the world is not a particularly happy 
place right now. I hope that the music on this album can provide some balm for wounded
souls or at least a brief respite from the stress and chaos of current events.

For CD sleeve pocket: I feel so blessed to have been able to bring this group of
wonderful musicians together for this album. Their sensitivity, amazing musicianship
and great energy made this a very special project for me.  This would not have been
possible without the talents of our terrific engineer Ben Lorenz and his invitation
to come record at his studio, Willis Sound (with reverb plates in the basement!).
His belief in the project has meant the world to me. Chris Goosman did a fabulous
job of mastering for us and Ted Chesky provided the great artwork and design layout.
The cover photo credit goes to my brother Randy Rowe, who is lucky enough to see
Vinton’s Cove every day. The beautiful loon photo was taken by Laura Robinson – 
artist, photographer and Loon Ranger extraordinaire.  Special thanks to the University
of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance for providing financial support for
this project. Thanks also to Smokin’ Sleddog Records’ Jamie-Sue Seal, who has been
a constant source of support and to Lydia Liebman for her promotional brilliance
and professional acumen.

This album is dedicated to the combined Rowe and Vinton clans who have celebrated
the beauty of Vinton’s Cove together for over 75 years.  And, of course, the loons.

[**Buy from here – New CD**](https://ellenrowe.bandcamp.com/album/vintons-cove)

[[

**How does your latest album fit into your creative path? Is this a goal you wanted
to achieve?**

After the octet album I wanted to get back to a smaller band and I particularly 
wanted to capitalize on my musical relationship with saxophonist Mike Sakash – after
we started to play together I knew that I wanted to write some music with his sound
in my ear as well as his improvisational style.

**How do you approach the process of songwriting, and are there any specific themes
or emotions you tend to explore in your music?**

I write alot of my music at the piano but often get inspirations for themes or “
hooks” while out running or just out in nature. I think that a sense of wistfulness
often permeates my music as I spend a lot of time thinking about topics like climate
change, the huge loss of species throughout the planet, the current political climate
in the U.S. and many other countries, etc. But I try and make sure that those pieces
are leavened by more fun, upbeat pieces so that albums and performances don;t just
end up depressing people!

**As an indie musician, how do you navigate the balance between creative freedom
and commercial appeal?**

I think I manage to strike a good balance by writing music that is accessible but
that has a lot of compositional integrity. Non musicians seem to really enjoy it
but musicians enjoy playing it, so that is the best of both worlds.

**What role does technology and social media play in promoting your music and connecting
with your audience?**

I’m not the most technologically savvy person – I have an email list and use Facebook
to promote performances but I’ve had to hire people to help get the word out and
teach me better business skills.

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**Could you describe a memorable live performance experience or tour that has had
a lasting impact on you and your music?**

Playing Kenny Wheeler”s “Sweet Time Suite” with Kenny and a fabulous band at the
Banff Center in the early 1990s was an important musical moment for me. Playing 
with my octet in Detroit for a great audience and also at the Jazz Education Network
Conference for a similarly enthusiastic audience have also been really memorable.

**In an era of streaming platforms, how do you feel about the changing landscape
of music consumption and its impact on independent musicians?**

I think indie musicians who have excellent promotion skills and can get lots of (
hopefully great) content out on a regular basis are going to do fine, especially
those who are savvy enough to combine performances with clinics, educational books,
etc.

**Musicians often have a close relationship with their fanbase. How do you engage
with your fans and build a dedicated community around your music?**

I’m working on that! I’m about to retire from my teaching job so that I can spend
more time composing and playing and hopefully starting some kind of podcast or maybe
even a radio show. I think the first thing that i will do, though, is start some
kind of weekly or monthly letter that keeps folks up to date on what I’m up to.

**How can fans find you? Lastly, please share some final words with the fans.**

My octet album “Momentum” is out on Smokin Sleddog’ Records ([https://smokinsleddogrecords.com/](https://smokinsleddogrecords.com/))
and the new one will be posted on Bandcamp:  [https://ellenrowe.bandcamp.com/album/vintons-cove](https://ellenrowe.bandcamp.com/album/vintons-cove).

My website is hopelessly outdated (getting ready for a redo!) but My Facebook page
Ellen Rowe Music is more up to date. I so appreciate everyone who has come to concerts
or gigs or purchased my music! Your support is incredibly appreciated.

**By Olivia Peevas**

 

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