A gifted guitarist whose style blends smooth jazz with gospel influences, Tim Bowman was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 22, 1959. Tim began playing guitar when he was 11 years old, and received much of his early music training while attending a local church, the International Gospel Center. Bowman sang in the IGC choir, and later sang and played with their group the International Sounds of Deliverance. Tim's sister Vickie, a talented vocalist who was also part of the International Sounds of Deliverance, became part of the Winans family after marrying gospel star Marvin Winans in 1978. In the mid-'80s, Tim was invited to sit in with the Winans during a show at Mercy College, and his performance was good enough that he was invited to join the band. However, the Winans' busy touring schedule didn't agree with Tim, and he resigned from the group in 1987. Bowman instead began pursuing a solo career, and in 1996 Tim issued his first solo album, Love, Joy, Peace. Bowman's label, Diamante Records, initially released the album in a limited run of 2,000 units, but when most of them were gone in less than two months, the album was given an expanded national release. Bowman cut two more albums for Diamante, 1998's Paradise and 2000's Smile, before moving to Liquid 8 Records for 2004's This Is What I Hear. In 2008, his self-titled Tim Bowman album proved to be a career breakthrough, giving him his first placement on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, where he peaked at number 15. In 2010, Bowman released a career-spanning anthology, The Collection, that included three new songs along with material from his back catalog. Returning to the studio, Bowman finally issued a follow-up LP, Into the Blue, in September 2017. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi