Roxy Coss has become one of the most unique and innovative saxophonists of her generation, and a definitional voice of the Millennial Movement in Jazz. The 2015 & 2014 Downbeat Critics’ Poll named Roxy a “Rising Star” on Soprano Saxophone. Originally from Seattle, and now a fixture on the New York scene, she has performed extensively around the world.
Coss just released her sophomore recording, Restless Idealism (Origin Records), the follow up to her self-titled debut, Roxy Coss (2010). The album features 10 original compositions played by her band, The Roxy Coss Quintet. As a leader, Coss has performed at many of New York’s top venues, such as Smalls, Zinc Bar, and SMOKE Jazz Club. At SMOKE, the band was in weekly residence from 2012- 2013. This summer, she also headlined at the famous Jazz Showcase in Chicago, and was a featured act at the 2015 Ballard Music Festival in Seattle, WA.
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Roxy Coss has become one of the most unique and innovative saxophonists of her generation, and a definitional voice of the Millennial Movement in Jazz. The 2015 & 2014 Downbeat Critics’ Poll named Roxy a “Rising Star” on Soprano Saxophone. Originally from Seattle, and now a fixture on the New York scene, she has performed extensively around the world.
Coss just released her sophomore recording, Restless Idealism (Origin Records), the follow up to her self-titled debut, Roxy Coss (2010). The album features 10 original compositions played by her band, The Roxy Coss Quintet. As a leader, Coss has performed at many of New York’s top venues, such as Smalls, Zinc Bar, and SMOKE Jazz Club. At SMOKE, the band was in weekly residence from 2012- 2013. This summer, she also headlined at the famous Jazz Showcase in Chicago, and was a featured act at the 2015 Ballard Music Festival in Seattle, WA.
As a side-woman, Coss has performed with Jazz greats such as Clark Terry, Louis Hayes, and Claudio Roditi. She is in rotation with the Mingus Big Band, a current member of The Diva Jazz Orchestra, and was a member of The Jeremy Pelt Group for three years. Coss is also the Tenor Saxophonist for the Off-Broadway hit, Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life, now at New World Stages.
Roxy graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2008 from William Paterson University with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies/Performance. She studied saxophone with Rich Perry and Gary Smulyan, and composition with Rich DeRosa. She also worked closely with Clark Terry and Mulgrew Miller. In 2011, she was chosen to participate in both the prestigious Jazz Ahead Residency Workshop at the Kennedy Center, and the acclaimed Steans Institute Jazz Program at the Ravinia Festival.
As a composer, Roxy has collaborated with her mother, Seattle artist Mary Coss, to create the soundtrack entitled Eternal, for an exhibition at Method Gallery (Traces, 2015). She was also commissioned by the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company to write the score for Breaking, a one-man dance piece (2009), as well as Tribe, a full-length dance show choreographed on commission by the Holocaust Museum of New York City (2010)
Awards
Nominated for "Rising Star" on Soprano Saxophone, Downbeat Critics Poll
2014, 2015
2016 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award
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