Brandon "Eugene" Owens

[b]Brandon "Eugene" Owens[/b] (b. ca. February 19[i]80[/i], ) is an American bassist, singer-songwriter, and producer. He is the younger brother of keyboardist [b][url=/artist/210843]Isaiah "Ikey" Owens[/url][/b] (1975—2014) and guitarist [b][url=/artist/719391]Aaron Fletcher Owens[/url][/b] (1977—2015). Owens writes and records solo as "[b][url=/artist/1326702]Eugene[/url][/b]" and with his band, [b][a=Eugene & The 1914][/b], but first and foremost, he is renowned as a session musician. Brandon served as a musical director and bassist for [a=Lauryn Hill] and has recorded and performed with such acclaimed artists as [a=Kendrick Lamar], [a=Terence Blanchard], [a=Mulgrew Miller], [a=Monty Alexander], [a=Nicholas Payton], [a=Brenna Whitaker], [a=Kelis], [a=Antonio Ciacca], [a=Laurent Coq], [a=Marcus Strickland], [a=Winard Harper], [a=Xavier Davis], and songwriter-producer [a=Glen Ballard], to name a few.

Before picking up the bass in middle school, Brandon played clarinet for several years. Owens studied at the prestigious [a=Los Angeles County High School For The Arts], where he took masterclasses and shared the stage with [a=Billy Higgins], [a=Stevie Wonder], [a=Bo Diddley], and [a=Boyz II Men]. After graduating from LACHSA, Brandon "Eugene" enrolled at [l=The New School, NYC], double-majoring in contemporary music and film. He dropped out after the first semester, however, and instead pursued a stage career, debuting on tour with jazz pianist [a=Benny Green]. Besides his extensive studio work and performing with countless jazz outfits and groups, Owens contributed to several film/TV soundtracks. In 2000, he was contracted by [l=New Line Cinema]/[l=Warner Bros. Pictures], and [url=/artist/1326702]Eugene[/url]'s song "Troubles" appeared in [a=Gina Prince-Bythewood]'s directorial debut, a romantic sports drama [i][url=/master/1059180]Love & Basketball[/url][/i]. (Subsequently, "Troubles" also appeared in [a=Michael Patrick King]'s 2008 rom-com, [i][url=/release/13724253]Sex and the City: The Movie[/url][/i], based on the eponymous [l=HBO] series.) Owens also portrayed bass players in film on several occasions, most notably with a brief, uncredited cameo in [a=Damien Chazelle]'s 2014 psychological music drama, [i][url=/master/825455]Whiplash[/url][/i], produced by [l=Bold Films]/[l=Blumhouse Productions] for [l=Sony Pictures Classics] and starring [a=Miles Teller] and [a=J.K. Simmons]. In 2020, Brandon recorded bass on [a=Robert Glasper]'s soundtrack for [i][url=/release/15487631]The Photograph[/url][/i], a romantic drama by [l=Universal Pictures] starring [a=Issa Rae], [a=Lakeith Stanfield], and [a=Chelsea Peretti]. More recently, in 2023, Owens provided backing vocals on the soundtrack for another [a=Damien Chazelle]'s movie on [l=Paramount Pictures], his period black comedy drama [i][url=/master/3079430]Babylon[/url][/i].

By tragic coincidence, Brandon's siblings both succumbed to a rare, undiagnosed congenital heart infection; Ikey and Aaron died before turning 40, and merely six months apart. In November 2024, Owens served as the executive producer for Ikey's debut solo album, [i][m=3674850][/i] LP on [l=Unit E Records], which Isaiah completed weeks before his untimely death in October 2014 while touring with [url=/artist/278763]Jack White[/url] in Mexico; even though [l=Third Man Records] already had final masters and planned the album release with "TMR-314" catalog number, the project remained shelved for over a decade.