Music, food, and community are good for the soul, and musician and philanthropist Endea Owens may have blended them together in the perfect way.
The bassist, composer, recording artist, bandleader, and 2015 Michigan State University Jazz Studies alum is remarkably busy yet always smiling. Amidst her summer tour, her gig as the house bassist for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and her Community Cookout nonprofit organization, Endea still managed to return to MSU three times this year.
In April she was a featured performer at the MSU Jazz Spectacular finale concert, and two weeks later she spoke at the Music spring commencement where she received the College of Music Distinguished Alumni Award. In June, her band headlined a night of the Summer Solstice Jazz Festival in downtown East Lansing.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the dedication, tutelage, and care that Rodney Whitaker and the faculty here at the College of Music has gifted me,” said Owens at the commencement ceremony. “This level of care and knowledge from the College of Music has led me to countless opportunities in life.”
Her successful recipe is to work hard, be grateful, care for others, and always find the joy in what you do. “I definitely love what I do. I mean, when I play the bass, every day is the same energy as when I was a kid.”
The Cookouts
In 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic had everybody cooped up and craving interaction for months, she started Community Cookout. It provides music and free food to underserved neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn, and Harlem, New York. More recently, while playing a show in Scotland, she coordinated a cookout there, and now her nonprofit is international.
“The Community Cookout is an organization that strives to create a better world through free meals and free concerts,” Endea said. “Only through love, humanity, and accessibility can we truly be the change that we want to be.”
It is all about inspiring others with her music while also supporting small businesses that serve those in need. At a cookout, the streets are filled with upbeat, soulful jazz while community members savor menu items that she pays for and helps select. It is a windfall day for the local restaurant or caterer, and it has helped feed over 3,000 people.
“The Community Cookout is one of the greatest gifts I’ve been able to give,” Endea said. “The quality of the food is important to me. Growing up, we often had to go to food pantries, so I know how it feels to be on the receiving end. The food quality wouldn’t always be the best, and I just want to give people the best. Even though it’s free, it doesn’t have to be low quality.”
In February 2021 in Brooklyn, for example, Community Cookout partnered with local restaurant Roti on the Run to provide 140 hot meals. One of the event organizers said the line stretched a city block and confirmed the need for such programs.
“I am deeply passionate about this project because I know first-hand how programs like this can create a ripple effect of encouragement and positivity,” Endea said.
Now touring as a bandleader, Endea Owens plays a number of high profile concerts, including shows with Elvis Costello.
The Stages
You can see that positivity nearly every night in her most high-profile job as The Late Show Band bassist. Endea, even while completing her master’s degree in jazz at Juilliard, was playing all over New York. She has toured with Wynton Marsalis, Diana Ross, and others, and she has won an Emmy, a Grammy, and a George Foster Peabody Award. Last fall, she received MSU’s Young Alumni Award during the 2023 Alumni Grand Awards ceremony.
Her debut album, “Feel Good Music,” released last summer, and she is recording her follow-up album. The “Feel Good” World Tour with her band, The Cookout, kicked off in January with performances across the United States.
She traveled to Apple SoHo for Apple Music’s Juneteenth 2024 celebration, where she shared the inspiration behind her most recent music. Later this summer, she will be touring in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK.
Endea Owens celebrates her Young Alumni Award recognition at the Wharton Center in November 2023. The award was presented by the MSU Alumni Office as part of their annual Grand Awards Gala.
The Message
Owens admits her career path was not an easy one.
“I took longer than most students to graduate,” Endea said about her MSU degree. “Instead of four years, it took me six. But I’m thankful for every struggle.”
She also tells the story about when she was a teen and she and her mother spent time in a homeless shelter after her mother lost her teaching job.
Born and raised in Detroit, Endea said that while practicing the bass in a homeless shelter one day, she experienced one of the moments that changed her life forever. She closed her eyes and imagined she was playing to a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden.
“When I got done playing, I opened my eyes; I was surrounded by every woman and child in the shelter. They were crying. They were cheering me on,” Owens said. “What was once a place of deep sorrow turned into a place of unimaginable strength, triumph, and happiness. That’s when I knew we all have a greater power and light within us. The music that we share and learn is something much greater than any of us can fathom.”
One thing is certain. Doors will continue to open for Endea Owens in both her music and her philanthropic work because her soul is in every step. As she puts it: “The grand mural of my life is ‘What’s next? How can I get to the next step?’ There are limitless possibilities.”
In her commencement speech to MSU College of Music graduates this spring, she gave this advice: “Fight for your dreams. Work hard. Turn your failures into lessons. If you fail, dust yourself off, give yourself grace, and play, compose, and create as if no one is watching. Keep your integrity. You never know when or where your next door will open.”
Watch the 2024 College of Music Spring Commencement remarks by Endea Owens beginning at 13:50.
