Marc Rossi
Marc Rossi | |
|---|---|
 Marc at the piano 1988 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marc W. Rossi |
| Born | June 13, 1952 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Origin | Connecticut |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, Pianist, Educator |
| Years active | 1960’s –present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | The Marc Rossi Group, Russell’s Living Time Orchestra, The Jimmy Giuffre 4, The Stan Strickland’s Ascension, The Robert Moore Quartet |
| Website | marcrossi |
Marc Rossi
Summary[edit]
Marc William Rossi is a composer, pianist, and educator, equally conversant in jazz, classical, and Indian music traditions. Based in Boston as bandleader and professor at Berklee College of Music, Rossi has led his eponymous fusion ensemble since 1981; he composes for his own and other ensembles equally reflecting these traditions. Rossi enjoyed lengthy associations, begun at New England Conservatory (NEC) and continued professionally, with composer/educators Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, William Thomas McKinley, and Peter Row. He performed in The Jimmy Giuffre 4, Russell’s Grammy-nominated Living Time Orchestra, had his orchestral works recorded on McKinley’s MMC label, and co-led an Indian fusion ensemble with Row. Rossi was a member of Stan Strickland's Ascension and Robert Moore Quartet, and performed with Bo Diddley, Lewis Porter, Randy Roos, and Natraj. He has written classical orchestral, chamber, and piano compositions for many soloists and ensembles, and performed in Indian-based groups with sitarist Row and singer Geetha Ramanathan Bennett. Rossi’s integration of diverse styles and aesthetics led DownBeat Magazine to call him "one of the dynamic few whose musical and cultural awareness travels exponentially in many different directions."[1]
Excerpts from Rossi’s “Joy of Wisdom” can be heard on the sound track of filmmaker Hal Rifken’s Blue Like Me: The Art of Siona Benjamin. In addition to his educational pursuits, Rossi performs with his quintet, and composes for Michael Finegold’s Essex Chamber Music Players, such as one in 2017 featuring bansuri and tabla.
Early Life and Education[edit]
Rossi was born in New Haven, CT, on June 13, 1952, studied piano with his maternal grandfather, Eugene Giaquinto, and continued piano at New Haven’s renowned Neighborhood Music School with Helen Schaffrenack and George Zybrywski. He picked up guitar as a teenager, studying with Joe Tinari and jammed on organ and guitar in rock bands. At 15, Rossi resumed classical piano lessons with William Duffy of Yale University . Discovering Indian music through the live performances and recordings of Ravi Shankar , he bought a sitar, and launched a lifelong passion for Indian classical music. Concurrently he began a life-long practice of Transcendental Meditation. At Windsor Mountain School (in Lenox, MA, the 16-year-old continued classical piano with Bach specialist Robert Blafield of Lenox and pianist Betty Maby of Pittsfield, played lead guitar in campus blues-rock bands, and dug into jazz piano and composing. He also attended SDS meetings, which piqued an awareness of political consciousness and social justice that has informed his musical thought.
At Eastman School of Music he studied composition with Joseph_Schwantner, Samuel Adler, and Warren Benson, and classical piano with Jared Bogardus, while further exploring jazz, avant-garde, and electronic improvisation.
After a stint in Azathoth, a Rochester band fusing rock, jazz and Indian music, Rossi transferred to The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) as a Third Stream major and earned a BM and MM in Composition. He studied piano with Jaki Byard composition with McKinley, Lydian Chromatic Concept with Russell, ensemble with Giuffre and Carl Atkins, and sitar with Row. Rossi had private lessons with McKinley, composition seminars with Donald Martino, and jazz seminars with Russell and Giuffre. Rossi studied orchestration with film arranger/orchestrater/composer Frank Bennett, and jazz improvisation with the legendary Charlie Banacos. He delved deep into the two major traditions of Indian classical music: Carnatic with Geetha Bennett, Lalgudi GJR Krishnan, and VR Venkataraman; and Hindustani with Row, Pradeep Shukla, and Kedar Naphade.
Performances[edit]
In 1982 Rossi joined The Jimmy Giuffre 4 the ensemble’s first pianist since Paul Bley , touring major venues in the Northeast (Jazzmania, Saratoga) and European festivals (Montreux, North Sea, Berlin) and contributing Other Point of View to Giuffre's book. In 1983, Russell hired Rossi as pianist/synthesist for Living Time Orchestra’s landmark Blue Note CDs: double Grammy nominee African Game and So What. Concerts and tours followed to Smithsonian Institute , Annenberg Center, Sweet Basil, Wolftrap, Burlington (VT) Jazz Festival.
Rossi has led his Marc Rossi Group since 1981, fusing jazz with Indian and world music. He has co-led piano duo Living Geometry with Ben Schwendener since 1993. He and sitarist Peter Row co-led the raga-jazz exploring Row & Rossi Project, 1995-99. Rossi composed, performed and recorded with: Jimmy Giuffre 4 (1980-82); Lewis Porter Quartet (1980-84); Robert Moore Quartet (1982-2000, also serving as music director); Michael Taylor Ensemble (1982-99); George Russell’s Living Time Orchestra (1983-92); Bo Diddley (Boston Symphony Hall, 1986); Walter Beasley Group (1986); Stan Strickland & Ascension (1987-2005); Natraj (2000-1); Jim Bridges Trio (2000-4).
Teaching[edit]
Rossi has held a full-time faculty position at Berklee College of Music since 1989, teaching piano, Jazz Composition, and Indian and world-music classes. He previously held teaching posts at Tufts University and at NEC. He conducted NEC student ensembles upon request of MacArthur Genius Award jazz legends Ran Blake and George Russell. One of the few Russell certified to teach The Lydian Chromatic Concept, Rossi avows it has shaped his musical philosophy. He led a world-music ensemble under the auspices of Blake and Row.
He has lectured and taught jazz classes at:
- Washington and Lee University, Virginia, 2013
- Indiana University East, Richmond 2012
- St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, 2004
- Università della Musica, Rome 2002
- "Ethnomusicology and the Emerging World Music Market" conference, Venice 2001
- Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 2001
- UCLA, Los Angeles, 1999
- Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory Prague, 1999
- NEC, World Music Ensemble, 1997
He conducted NEC student ensembles (1986) upon request of MacArthur Genius Award jazz legends Ran Blake and George Russell. One of the few Russell certified to teach The Lydian Chromatic Concept, Rossi avows it has shaped his musical philosophy.
Compositions (selected)[edit]
- Recorded performers of Rossi’s compositions include:
- Marc Rossi Group Lance Van Lenten (saxophones and flute), Bill Urmson (bass), Mauricio Zottarelli and Bob Tamagni (drums)
- Orchestras Czech Radio Symphony of Prague, Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra, Berklee Faculty Jazz Orchestra, Diane Moser’s NY Composer’s Big-Band, SinfoNova (Boston), NEC’s Composer’s Improvising Lab Orchestra (CILO)
- Pianists Jeffrey Jacob, Tania Stavreva, Cameron Grant, William Merrill, Lewis Porter
- Cellists Raphael Popper-Keizer, Emmanuel Feldman, Felix Simonian, Xin-Hua Ma
- Saxophonists Les Thimmig, Jimmy Giuffre, Stan Strickland, Phil Scarff, Lance Van Lenten, Robert Moore
- The Arden String Quartet
- Indian classical guitarist Prasanna
- Jazz guitarist Bruce Arnold, Randy Roos
- American violinists Sharan Leventhal, Susan Tucker
- Indian violinists Lalgudi GJR Krishnan, Vijaya Krishnan
- Saraswati Veena player Durga Krishnan
- Essex Chamber Music Players, director Michael Finegold
- Sitarist Peter Row
- Indian singers Geetha Ramanathan Bennett, Dattu Velenkar, Pradeep Shukla
- Santoor player Satish Vyas
- Tabla players Vishal Nagar, Amit Kavthekar
- Mridangam and kanjira players Raghavan Sai, Rhadakrishnan.
Performance Discography[edit]
As Leader:[edit]
Marc Rossi Group, (1981--)
We Must Continue (MMC Recordings, 1996)
“The chance-taking explorations have plenty of exciting moments”; the compositions are "complex, [but] always contain some catchy melodies."[2]
Hidden Mandala (Gravity, 2008)
“Rossi’s songs capture… the rich possibilities of Indian classical music, but still stay true to their jazz roots…as the improvisations speak to limitless possibilities.”[3]
"Pianist Marc Rossi is onto something here...his music is high energy, high concept and high culture."[4]
Mantra Revealed (Innova, 2012)
“Rossi is a staple in the region's progressive-jazz scene, spanning numerous formats and ensemble gatherings. Here, the artist plants his imaginative powers with a hip, upbeat, and tuneful array of works sans any filler tracks. Essentially, these disparate pieces teeter on that fuzzy space, where blithely memorable themes seamlessly coalesce with synchronous excursions into Eastern modalities and other offshoots.”[5]
"Rossi explores his inner universe to create eight energetic and exciting tunes. This CD has good karma, one of the most enjoyable creative works of the year!"[6]
“[Mantra Revealed] is a bridge between the exotic and the sublime. The music is intercultural, inventive, and dynamic.”[7]
As Co-leader with:[edit]
- Santoorist Satish Vyas: Resonance (Sony, 2012).
- Pianist Ben Schwendener: Rossi/Schwendener Duo:
- Living Geometry (Gravity, 2002)
- Living Geometry II (Gravity, 2004) w/ Joe Maneri/Uwe Steinmetz
- Pianist Lewis Porter: Porter/Rossi Duo, 2010, Transformation.
As Sideman:[edit]
- George Russell’s Living Time Orchestra
- African Game (Blue Note, 1985) Grammy nominee
- So What (Blue Note, 1985)
As Performer and Composer:[edit]
- Robert Moore Quartet: Modes for a Moor (1991)
- Stan Strickland & Ascension: Stan Strickland & Ascension (1993)
- Symbiotic: The Jazz Samba Sessions (compilation) (2001)
- Michael Taylor Group: Steppin' Into the Moment (1996)
As Producer/Composer/Arranger:[edit]
"Bizura Na Tuzura," (I'm Lonely) by Iggy Ry, Makin' Tracks: A Compilation of Berklee Student & Faculty Music (Gary Burton, Exec. Producer), 1996.
Composition Discography (selected)[edit]
For a complete list of Rossi compositions see www.marcrossi.com.
- Negru Voda: Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerzy Swoboda, cond.: New Century, Volume VI (MMC, 1996)
- Three Jazz Sutras: Jeffrey Jacob : Contemporary American Eclectic Music for the Piano, Vol. 2 (New Ariel, 1996)
- Blues Among Us: Just In Time Composers and Players: In Concert, (JIT, 2002)
- Moon Mirror, Denying the Abyss: Czech Radio Symphony, Vladimir Valek, cond.: A View from Charles Bridge (MMC, 2003)
- Blue Solomon; A Song of Songs: Jeffrey Jacob: Contemporary American Eclectic Music for Piano, Vol. 6 (New Ariel, 2003)
- A Dance to the Music of Being, and Fantasy in Adi Talam: Essex Chamber Music Players: Classical Contemporary Chamber Music for the 21st Century, Vol 1. (2009)
References[edit]
- ↑ Fred Bouchard, “Forging a Fresh Vernacular,” DownBeat Magazine, Oct 1996
- ↑ Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene
- ↑ Jay Deshpande, All About Jazz, January 15, 2009.
- ↑ Walter Kolosky, Jazz.com, July 21, 2008
- ↑ Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz, June 23, 2012
- ↑ Oscar Groomes
- ↑ Walter Kolosky
External links[edit]
www.marcrossi.com [1]
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