Multi-instrumentalist on reed and brass who was active from the late 1920s, playing in orchestras led by Red Nichols, Jimmy Durante, Mal Hallett and others.
Had notable collaborations with Bobby Hackett, Wingy Manone, Bud Freeman and Eddie Condon in the 1930s (usually playing valve trombone and sax) and performed in a swing band led by drummer Ray McKinley, for whom he also wrote several arrangements. In 1943, Gowans played clarinet while on tour with the Katherine Dunham Show. After the war, he worked mainly with Jimmy Dorsey and Nappy Lamare and also free-lanced on the West Coast.
