James Bowers - My Quartet Album
Released 10 October 2025, via CD and digital
James Bowers - Piano/Compositions
Ben Harrison - Trumpet
Marty Holoubek - Bass
Shun Ishiwaka - Drums
Naarm/Melbourne-based pianist James Bowers unveils My Quartet Album — an expansive and deeply personal new recording that follows his celebrated debut, My Trio Album. Reuniting with long-time collaborators Marty Holoubek (bass) and Shun Ishiwaka (drums), and now joined by trumpeter Ben Harrison, this release expands both the sonic palette and emotional range of Bowers’ music. The result is a fearless, joyfully chaotic, and unexpectedly moving work from one of Australia’s most compelling musical voices.
This quartet is more than a band — it’s a group of friends. “I’ve known Ben since high school and we’ve been making music and hanging out ever since,” says Bowers. “I met Marty just after finishing uni and we clicked musically and personally straight away. He introduced me to Shun when I played on his Trio I album — the chemistry was immediate.” That connection led to a series of projects and performances across Japan and Australia, including a major feature at Blue Note’s Cotton Club in Tokyo for International Jazz Day. That same trio, joined by Ben Harrison and Japanese sax heavyweight MELRAW, shared the stage in a show that served as a catalyst for this new album.
My Quartet Album was written specifically for this group, fuelled by a sense of urgency and inspiration. “I always write with specific people in mind,” says Bowers. “The opportunity to play the Cotton Club again gave me a deadline, and I churned out as much music as I could that I thought would work for this band. I ended up writing way too much — there are a few online-only tracks, and some pieces I didn’t even try to record.”
This is music that embraces contradiction: muscular but lyrical, intricate yet raw, reverent but irreverent. The album opens with “Horse,” a rework of a theme that’s appeared on both Trio I and My Trio Album. “It’s very heavy, very stupid and a lot to listen to,” Bowers laughs. “I think it scares off people who might be too easily spooked — which I like.” Other highlights include “Snakey,” inspired by the grim, futuristic textures of Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa, and “Him,” which blends hymnal harmonies with the broken nostalgia of a deteriorating music box. “House” is a late-night, sample-laced nod to Strong Zero drinks and features a trumpet intro recorded in a haze of laughter and delirium — a moment that perfectly captures the group’s blend of play and purpose.
The music is dense with detail but never self-indulgent. “It’s my favourite people to follow a musical thread with — there’s this balance of respecting the music and fully committing to your own idea, even if you don’t know if it’s going to work,” Bowers explains. The result is music that feels alive: risky, empathetic, human.
Recorded live over two days at Studio Dede in Tokyo, the album carries the spontaneous electricity of a band in full flight. One of Bowers’ favourite memories was post-recording: “We were at a barbecue after the first day and Shun got a FaceTime call from Yoshikawa-san, the studio engineer. Apparently, he’s normally quite gruff, but he just wanted to hang out. He had such a fun time with us in the studio and took a real liking to our particular brand of nonsense.”
Though trained as a pianist and composer, Bowers is currently studying to be a music therapist — a journey that’s reshaped how he relates to music. “It’s really invigorating reexamining my relationship to music and people,” he says. “Learning to see music as a tool rather than an end-goal is freeing but also kind of terrifying.” That perspective shift infuses the album with depth: the sense that music can reflect, connect, and even heal.
James Bowers is a sought-after pianist, composer, and collaborator based in Naarm/Melbourne. Known for his exciting improvisational style and musical empathy, he seamlessly traverses diverse genres, informed by but not bound by stylistic norms. James has toured Europe, the US, and Japan, performing at esteemed venues like Blue Note Tokyo's Cotton Club. His debut, My Trio Album, received critical acclaim, leading to features at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and collaborations with artists like MELRAW and Ben Harrison. Beyond performance, James is studying to become a music therapist, exploring music's power to help people understand and process themselves better.