With 25+ years in the music business, I have spent two decades touring & recording in the alt-pop band Jars of Clay (3 Grammys, 10+ Dove Awards), multi-platinum records and experience in many genres. Now I am off the road, building tracks and compositions and lending my keyboard skills to other's records.
I grew up playing both classically-trained and pop piano by ear as I got older. I met a few friends in college and we formed the multi-platinum band, Jars of Clay. Over 20 years of touring, we wrote & recorded 12 albums and played worldwide. I play anything with keys, including B3 and accordion, play well by ear or chart, and have my own studio & setup accessible every day.
Contact me through the green button above and let's get to work.
Credits
AllMusic verified credits for Charlie Lowell- Chris Renzema
- Caitlyn Smith
- Caitlyn Smith
- Caitlyn Smith
- Caitlyn Smith
- Caitlyn Smith
- Caitlyn Smith
- Caitlyn Smith
- Caitlyn Smith
- Sanctus Real
- Jars of Clay
- David Wilcox
- Daniel Christian
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Brandon Heath
- Party Tyme Karaoke
- Party Tyme Karaoke
- Jars of Clay
- Colleen McCarron
- Lullaby Players
- David Waxman
- Sarah Kelly
- Jars of Clay
- Sleepytime Worship
- Brandon Heath
- Brandon Heath
- Max Lucado
- Bluegrass Tribute Players
- Flatfoot 56
- Flatfoot 56
- Jars of Clay
- Jerome Paden Jr.
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Bebo Norman
- Bebo Norman
- Jars of Clay
- Derek Webb
- Derek Webb
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- KJ-52
- Drew's Famous
- Parkway
- Parkway
- Lincoln Brewster
- Exodus
- David Wilcox
- David Wilcox
- X-Treme
- Three Crosses
- Jars of Clay
- Christopher Young
- Mancy A'lan Kane
- Mancy A'lan Kane
- Mancy A'lan Kane
- Mancy A'lan Kane
- Mancy A'lan Kane
- Sarah Jahn
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Three Crosses
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Jars of Clay
- Sanctus Real
- Sanctus Real
- Sanctus Real
- Party Tyme Karaoke
- Kenny Foster
- The Hit Crew
- The Hit Crew
- Organic Spark
- Sam Williams
- Sam Williams
- Sam Williams
- Sam Williams
- Organic Spark
- Awake...
- Josh Birdsong
- Karaoke
22 Reviews - 4 Repeat Clients
Endorse Charlie Lowell
check_circleVerifiedWorking with Charlie is a smooth, interactive and pleasant experience. I worked with him on several past projects with GSlide and now with my new band (The Niteglows) I sought his talents. He is creative, super good at listening to feedback and is committed to making sure your happy with the results. Recommend!
check_circleVerifiedCharlie nailed this song. Just the ambient cool sounds I was looking for to put the icing on the cake! Appreciate his flexibility and willingness to go different directions. The texture he added to our song gave it that professional touch. True pro!
check_circleVerifiedCharlie helped me out with some awesome synth sounds to make my 80's cover come to life! Great guy to work with. He listened to my suggestions on sound preferences and nailed it. Highly recommend!
check_circleVerifiedCharles is simply LEGENDARY. I reached out to him to score a short film that I was putting together, and he created a track that was absolutely PERFECT. I can't recommend him enough. Easily the most talented musical pro I've ever worked with.
check_circleVerifiedCharles is an amazing, creative guy to work with! I’m so glad he helped me on my project!
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True professional. Charlie is a legend in his time. I grew up with his music and now am blessed to have him lay down some killer keyboards on my track. I wasn't done with the song but Charlie was able to work around that. He has a good sense of texture and rhythm which helped for what I was going for. He came up with a good hook for my chorus before I even had vocals. In fact he gave me more tracks than I'd expected which is awesome for production. Always good to have choices! Thanks Charlie
check_circleVerifiedWorking with Charlie was a completely effortless and fluid experience. We brought him a near complete song that just needed that modern production edge and he delivered the perfect back-beat, ambiance, padding, and mix that really took things to the next level. He was quick with his responses/delivery and was very receptive of any feedback we gave him along the way. Would strongly recommend to others, and will be working with him again for sure!
check_circleVerifiedGreat work by Charlie! Highly recommended :))
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Great work and he added one organ track, Charlie is the man if you need piano for your song.
check_circleVerifiedGreat musician, lovely feeling... I told him the idea of my sound and he brought me a lovely piano added with a few synths within 24 hours!! Looking forward for working with him again.
check_circleVerifiedI mean c'mon...Charlie is a consumate pro who has serious talent and chops! This is my third track with him and he's a keeper. I don't want to share him!!
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My song sounds great! This is my second time working with Charlie and I'm so glad I did. He has a great ear and I love what he came up with! He is a good communicator and has a very fast turnaround time. He gave me lots of tracks to choose from with lots of different sounds and ideas. I will definitely work with him again and I highly recommend him to others. Thanks so much, Charlie!
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Charlie was great to work with. I love what he added to my song and the melody he came up with! He was very responsive and fast and a great communicator. When I asked him to make edits, he was super cool and I appreciate that. I would definitely work with him again. Thanks so much, Charlie!
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Great work! Quality of the sound and the playing are exceptional and he truly understands the vision you have for your track. I absolutely recommend.
check_circleVerifiedIt was really great working with Charlie. Super quick turnover with a great ear and interpretation!
check_circleVerifiedFlawless tracks, prompt... I'm not sure how he is with revisions cause we didn't have any! No complaints!!
check_circleVerifiedCharlie provided some keyboard accompaniment to a pop rock song. This was my second gig with Charlie and this experience was no different - nice accompaniment, good collaboration and communication. I also appreciated Charlie's swift turnaround to a fairly time sensitive project.
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As a musician, my goal is to evoke real emotion. Unbridled and pure.
Charlie Lowell has a natural ease in his playing and an inherent melodic sense which added emotional depth to my song.
Quick response and turnaround, but more importantly...the track greatly improved because he played on it. - check_circleVerified
Pleasure to work with, had a clear vision of what I wanted and good communication. Highly recommended!
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This was such a great and effortless transaction.
I love the tracks Charlie provided.
Beautiful and lush, they added depth to my song.
He read my post carefully and gave me exactly what I needed! Can't wait to mix them :)
Interview with Charlie Lowell
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I have released a handful of few tracks aka "Hollow // Hum", collaborating with other vocalists and writers, and I am wrapping an EP for an artist (indie pop genre) and a few composing jobs for short films & companies.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both- depending on the context, as a keyboard player, I have a mix of analog and digital and love them both for different reasons.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love collaborating and bringing my strengths to make a song stronger and more interesting.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Try me! I'm very interactive and open to direction, but can go from zero as well and create track(s) that compliment and support the song at hand.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: Over 20 years with my band, Jars of Clay. We came off the road 2 years ago, and I began working on my own tracks and songs.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Chillout, dream pop, melodic smart pop.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Feist. She is a model to me of creative arrangements, dynamic performance, quirky songwriting and style.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: I think at the end of the day, it's all about the melody. There's a fine line between adding too much (over-production) and simply supporting a great vocal & great melody. That's the space i'm after.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Typically in my studio, it's electronic based, or simpler arrangements w/ songwriters, but when I go do sessions in Nashville, I play organ, piano, etc on rock, folk, pop and country records.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Collaboration and co-writing are my best skills. I also enjoy creating emotional, cinematic tracks from sparse to lush.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I bring a strong gut for melody, sequencing and theory. I love collaborating and helping filter through ideas for the best ones.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I start with a bed or rhythm as a muse, and work out from there... I often finish a whole cinematic instrumental track, then work w/ a vocalist to write over it.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have Logic Pro X on my MacBook Pro. My outboard gear is limited, but I'm growing my virtual plugins and have some great Genelec monitors. I love the Olafur Arnalds Composer Toolkit that Spitfire Audio put out, as well as Native Instruments Komplete sounds and the Corda custom piano instrument.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: My favorite artist growing up was Crowded House/ Neil Finn. Lots of Tears For Fears, Cure, Depeche Mode, and into college, influences like Sting, Peter Gabriel, Sarah McLachlan. These days, Feist, High Highs, Japanese House, Soren Juul, and Arcade Fire are consistent favorites.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Piano, Wurly, Synth tracks on songs, as well as ambient electronic beds. I love the bells & whistles... glockenspiel, celeste, kalimba.
I was the Co-writer, producer, mixer in this production
- Keyboards - SynthAverage price - $150 per song
- PianoAverage price - $125 per song
- Full instrumental productionAverage price - $500 per song
- Neil Finn
- The Cure
- The xx
- CP-70
- OmniChord
- accordion
- Hammond B3
- Rhodes
- Wurlitzer
- upright spinnet piano
- and dozens of virtual synth plugins.
