354 - Ulysses Owens, Jr: How to manifest your dreams into reality - Drummer's Resource: Conversations with the world's greatest drummers and music industry pros.
January 22, 2018

354 – Ulysses Owens, Jr: How to manifest your dreams into reality

Ulysses Owens, Jr is a man beyond his years. From Grammy Award winning performances on records with Christian McBride and Kurt Elling to releasing three of his own self-produced albums to critical acclaim, Owens has established himself as one of Jazz’s heavy hitters. To add to the accolades, he’s been named a Rising Star by DownBeat’s Critics Poll for five years straight. He is a recipient of the 2013 ASCAP Plus Award, a gold medal winner of the 2014 Global Music Awards and a 2015 Jazz at Lincoln Center Swing Award honoree. Owens is also a producer (with 30 production credits to his name), a speaker and owns a company that provides entertainment for high end brands for parties and events.

Ulysses Owens, Jr talks about:

  • Growing up in church and the effect it had on his development as a drummer
  • His first experience playing drums
  • How the pressures of playing professionally can zap the joy out of playing
  • Dealing with learning disabilities
  • The defining moment that changed his career path
  • How the drums chose him, not the other way around
  • Finding your passion no matter what
  • Getting out of your comfort zone to achieve success
  • Why we’re creatures of habit
  • How to define you own success
  • How he transitioned into being an educator, entrepreneur, and social activist
  • Gaining inspiration from things outside of drumming
  • How he landed the Christian McBride tour
  • What’s drives him today
  • His daily Mantra
  • Much more

Resources / People / Links mentioned:


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