Dudley Owens was born in 1979 and fell in love with jazz at an early age. The youngest sibling of four he was born into a musical family. He fell in love with the saxophone when he saw Branford Marsalis playing on a TV show. At the age of 10 he finally got his chance to play the saxophone. Excelling over his peers he was chosen to perform in numerous solo competitions. Dudley fell in love with jazz in 7th grade when his father bought him a Charlie Parker album. By the time Dudley reached high school he was awarded best soloist at numerous competitions and awarded 4th place in the International Saxophone Competition.

Dudley was awarded a full scholarship to the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL under the direction of Bunky Green. During his years at North Florida he played lead alto in Jazz Ensemble 1. Dudley had the privilage of performing or record with the likes of Bunky Green, John Faddis, Slide Hampton, Tim Warfield, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Antonio Hart, Donald Harrison, Conrad Herwig, Robin Eubanks, Ernie Adams, Marvin Stamm, Orbert Davis, Ed. Peterson, Willie Pickens, Smokie Norful, Deandre Patterson, Steve Turre, the Dells, and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble.