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Marc Rossi

Marc Rossi’s ambitious genre-transcending career and inclusive compositions led Down Beat magazine to call him "one of the dynamic few whose musical and cultural awareness travels exponentially in many different directions." A versatile contemporary classical composer, jazz composer and pianist, and educator, Rossi has been a vital part of the rich Boston music scene since the early 1980’s. He is a 20-year veteran of the jazz and contemporary classical worlds, a longtime student of both Hindustani and Carnatic Indian music and full-time Associate Professor of Piano and Jazz Composition at Boston’s Berklee College of Music.

After receiving both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Composition from New England Conservatory (NEC), Rossi continued his education through private studies with Frank Bennett (composition and orchestration), William Thomas McKinley (composition), Charlie Banacos (jazz improvisation), Peter Row (North Indian Music and sitar), and Ben Schwendener (Lydian Chromatic Concept).

As an educator, Rossi has held a full-time position at Berklee since 1989, following teaching stints at both NEC and Tufts University. He has delivered guest lectures and jazz master classes at the Venice "Ethnomusicology and the Emerging World Music Market" conference, UCLA, the Universita della Musica in Rome, and other institutions and conducted NEC student ensembles at the request of MacArthur “Genius” Award-winning jazz legends, Ran Blake and George Russell.

Since 1981, Rossi has led his own jazz fusion ensemble The Marc Rossi Group, which released its first recording We Must Continue (MMC Recordings) in 1996. Prominent LA Jazz Scene reviewer Scott Yanow wrote, “the chance taking explorations have plenty of exciting moments,” and his eight originals "complex, [but] always contain some catchy melodies." Rossi co-led the raga-jazz exploring Row and Rossi Project with sitarist and NEC Provost Peter Row from 1995-99, and marks the 10th anniversary of his duo with pianist Ben Schwendener in 2003. AllAboutJazz Modern Jazz Editor Glenn Astarita chose the Schwendener/Rossi Duo’s debut, Living Geometry (Gravity Records), as his Pick of the Month for September 2002.

Rossi has also served as a sideman, composing, performing and recording extensively with a variety of other jazz groups including Stan Strickland and Ascension, the Jimmy Guiffre 4, Natraj, The Robert Moore Quartet, and George Russell’s Living Time Orchestra, appearing on the latter’s landmark Blue Note releases, The African Game and So What.

Rossi’s concurrent composing career includes premieres in legendary venues like Boston’s Symphony Hall and Dvorak Hall in Prague. His pieces have been performed and premiered by renowned musicians like The Czech Radio Symphony of Prague, the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra, pianist Jeffrey Jacob, cellist Raphael Popper-Keizer, the Arden String Quartet, Indian classical guitarist Prasanna, cellist Xin-Hua Ma, pianists Cameron and William Merrill, violinist Sharan Leventhal, jazz historian/pianist Lewis Porter, and the Berklee Faculty Jazz Orchestra.

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3
Album Review

Marc Rossi Group: Mantra Revealed

Read "Mantra Revealed" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Multifaceted Boston-based keyboardist, composer Marc Rossi whets the harmonic palate with a genre-hopping brew of Indo-jazz, fusion and modern jazz. An educator at Boston's Berklee College of Music, 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 ...

297
Album Review

Marc Rossi Group: Hidden Mandala

Read "Hidden Mandala" reviewed by Jay Deshpande


Although the categories of jazz and world music frequently intersect, the results are a mixed bag. It's no small task to meld together different ethnic musics without doing them some disservice. However, pianist and composer Marc Rossi brings something new and exciting to the field. On Hidden Mandala, Rossi's songs capture the rich possibilities of classical Indian music, but still stay true to their jazz roots. This hybrid is made possible by Rossi's comfort in multiple genres. A ...

175
Album Review

Marc Rossi and Ben Schwendener: Living Geometry

Read "Living Geometry" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock pulled it off, yet recordings of jazz-centric piano duets are generally few and far between. And while Boston, MA based pianists Marc Rossi and Ben Schwendener may not represent household names, this effort recorded live at a concert hall in Cambridge, MA hits the mark in a variety of ways. With this release, the pianists’ improvisations were either individually planned or assembled as a unit. They also incorporate theorist/composer George Russell’s groundbreaking, Lydian Chromatic concepts ...

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Recording

Marc Rossi Releases New Album: Hidden Mandala (Gravity Records)

Marc Rossi Releases New Album: Hidden Mandala (Gravity Records)

Source: Powderfinger Promotions

"Marc Rossi is one of the dynamic few whose musical and cultural awareness travels exponentially in many different directions, expanding his personal universe." -- Fred Bouchard, DownBeat “Rossi has never been someone of one-dimensional interests. The list of both jazz and classical compositions he has written is long and impressive." -- David Wildman, Boston Globe Marc Rossi Group's latest release, Hidden Mandala, treats listeners to a hybrid of the South Indian and Jazz genres that is both refreshing and intriguing. ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Mantra Revealed

Innova Recordings
2012

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Hidden Mandala

Gravity Records
2009

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Living Geometry

Gravity Records
2002

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