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Mick Rossi

Pianist, drummer/percussionist, composer and member of the Philip Glass Ensemble and the Paul Simon band, Mick Rossi is known for his diverse, progressive work in the New York Downtown scene, and has been described as “an exemplar of the cross-fertilization between jazz and classical music worlds...the smile-creating mix of humor, surprise, gorgeous sounds and virtuosity...relentlessly pressing, twisting and turning...an assuredness and logic that feel inevitable, despite the almost constant surprises," and "one of the most lucid, original and creative minds of the New York scene, and long-time collaborator with Philip Glass." (All About Jazz). Recent recordings include “They Have A Word For Everything“ (Knitting Factory), “Nosferatu” (Dreambox), “Inside The Sphere“ (Cadence), “New Math” (ToneScience), and “One Block From Planet Earth” (OmniTone), about which Down Beat gives “Four Stars” and All About Jazz describes as “Life relishing and unpretentiously profound.” Rossi’s music has been spotlighted on numerous top-ten lists, including All About Jazz, Downtown Music Gallery, and Village Voice Choices. His ninth recording “Songs From The Broken Land” for solo piano was just released on Orange Mountain Music ("Bartokian and energetic" - NY Times). In addition, Rossi music directed and conducted the Public Theater's Shakespeare Festival production of “The Bacchae” (directed by JoAnne Akalaitis) in Central Park. He has served as music director and curator of the MATA Festival in New York (for which he was featured in TimeOutNY), just completed his third string quartet ("Shostakovichian paranoia" - NY Times) which was premiered at Merkin Hall's Tribeca New Music Festival by the JACK QT, recently conducted Philip Glass’ “Book Of Longing” in Milan, Melbourne, and the Sydney Opera House, and was soloist with the LA Philharmonic (Hollywood Bowl) and NY Philharmonic (Avery Fisher). In addition, he currently has a residency as performer and curator at the LES’ Spectrum NYC (Outliers Series / 2013-2017) and has been a Hermitage Fellow since 2012. Other recent Glass projects include “Orion (drummer/percussionist),” “Music in 12-Parts (keyboardist),” “Einstein On The Beach” (Olivier Award, as assistant conductor/keyboardist), and "Koyaanisqatsi Live With The NY Philharmonic" (keyboardist), as well numerous tours with Mr. Glass and cellist Wendy Sutter. He has appeared on eleven Glass recordings, six Simon recordings (including the recent Austin City Limits live), and has just completed his tenth solo release entitled "160" on Innova Records.

A member of the Philip Glass Ensemble as pianist, percussionist and conductor, Rossi is currently touring with both Glass and Paul Simon / Sting.

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Mick Rossi

Read "Mick Rossi" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Pianist, drummer/percussionist, and composer Mick Rossi is known for his diverse, progressive work in the New York Downtown scene where he has collaborated with the likes of Steven Bernstein, Mark Dresser, Dave Douglas, Erik Friedlander, Gerry Hemingway, Ron Horton, Andy Laster, Michael Sarin and Cuong Vu. Despite the very busy and long-standing collaborations with Philip Glass and Paul Simon, he has established himself as one of the most courageous, gifted and charismatic musicians in the New York scene and beyond ...

Album Review

Mick Rossi: 160

Read "160" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Nato come commento musicale al documentario “Albi's Oboe" di Matt Dine, 160 (è la frequenza utilizzata nella registrazione del disco) -come talvolta accade in casi del genere, si svincola dalla sua funzione originale per trasformarsi in opera che vive di vita propria, autonoma e originale. Mick Rossi suona, oltre agli usuali pianoforte e batteria, una serie di strumenti sovraincisi in tempo reale, dando vita ad un lavoro difficilmente etichettabile, al di là dei generi. Specchio fedele, per l'appunto, ...

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Lyrics

Mick Rossi

Read "Mick Rossi" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


01. Lhasa de Sela -La Llorona (Audiogram / Atlantic -1997). Un canto espressivo ed elegante. Orchestrazioni eccentriche e bellissime. Triste averla persa così presto. 02. Jimmy Giuffre -Thesis (Verve -1962). Ispirato e trascendente. Paul Bley e Steve Swallow complici profondi. 03. Philip Glass -Music in Twelve Parts (Orange Mountain Music -2008). Pur suonando questo pezzo con Philip dal 2006, lo temo tuttora. Questo live registrato in Italia è il mio primo ...

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Album Review

Mick Rossi: Songs From The Broken Land

Read "Songs From The Broken Land" reviewed by Budd Kopman


Pianist Mick Rossi is an exemplar of the cross-fertilization between jazz and classical music worlds. While closely collaborating with Philip Glass for the last ten years, he is also very active in the downtown New York City jazz scene. Songs From The Broken Land is a much reworked, official release version of a project included in a previous All About Jazz review, Mick Rossi: Spontaneous Improvisation. The pianist's efforts have created a much stronger work, one that ...

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Multiple Reviews

Mick Rossi: Spontaneous Improvisation

Read "Mick Rossi: Spontaneous Improvisation" reviewed by Budd Kopman


The ideal for a jazz performer is to be able to reach that zone when performing where the music flows directly from their soul, with little or no interference from the thinking process--that which is felt is played right in that moment. Miles Davis is famous for telling his band members, accomplished players to be sure, to “practice on the bandstand," and many times set things up in the studio so that there could not be much, if any, rehearsal. ...

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Album Review

Mick Rossi: One Block From Planet Earth

Read "One Block From Planet Earth" reviewed by Javier AQ Ortiz


Mick Rossi's music brings to mind a couple of things. On one hand, it's reminiscent of Richard Feynman's life and work. Feynman, as is the quintet in One Block From Planet Earth, was multifaceted, humorous, life-relishing, unpretentiously profound, and a superb communicator of abstract concepts. On the other, it's reminiscent of the primeval concept of “talking through percussion, albeit here in a drawn-out alternative musical context. This record has a full-bodied avant storytelling character and personality that successfully ...

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Album Review

Mick Rossi/Russ Johnson: New Math

Read "New Math" reviewed by Terrell Kent Holmes


On New Math trumpeter Russ Johnson and pianist/flutist/percussionist Mick Rossi expand the limits of improvisation and invention. Their duets are musical poetry slams, a blueprint for performance jazz, with three-digit numbers identifying the songs on this envelope-shredding disc. “2.70” begins with a wailing trumpet salvo from Johnson that sounds like a Dixieland ululation, with Rossi’s piano trilling behind him. An elephantine burst is the opening sound of “3.30.” Johnson provides the dramatic, fragmented backdrop as Rossi articulates the landscape. On ...

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Music Industry

The Red Cat Review - Avishai Cohen, The Brooklyn Sax Quartet, Mick Rossi, Pat Daugherty, Roni Ben-Hur

The Red Cat Review - Avishai Cohen, The Brooklyn Sax Quartet, Mick Rossi, Pat Daugherty, Roni Ben-Hur

Source: All About Jazz

THE RED CAT REVIEW An occasional newsletter from Red Cat Publicity March 29, 2005 New CD release Upcoming CD releases Upcoming performances NEW CD RELEASES: The Brooklyn Sax Quartet - “Far Side of Here" in stores now on OmniTone - a tribute to former band member, the late Sam Furnace, and a saxophone and improvisation tour de force featuring the compositions of BSQ leaders David Bindman (tenor) and Fred Ho (bari), plus riveting new takes on “A Night In Tunisia" ...

"New Math is challenging but stunning terrain, spare but beautiful, affecting to the emotions.Their duets are musical poetry slams, a blueprint for performance jazz, with three-digit numbers identifying the songs on this envelope-shredding disc." —All About Jazz

"One Block From Planet Earth [is] multi-faceted, humorous, life relishing, [and] unpretentiously profound." —All About Jazz

"Rossi's piano is the most rooted, solid and resistant spine. Not only for the peculiarities of his instrument, for the implicit polyphonic and therefore harmonious possibilities, but most of all for the authority and serenity that rule his approach

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Cut The Red Wire

Diskonife
2020

buy

160

Innova Recordings
2017

buy

Songs From The Broken...

Orange Mountain Music
2010

buy

New Math

Unknown label
2004

buy

They Have A Word For...

Knitting Factory
2000

buy

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