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MICK ROSSI (b. 1956)
 Pianist,
composer, percussionist, conductor and arranger Mick Rossi, a member of
the Philip Glass ensemble as both percussionist and keyboardist?is known for
his diverse work in the NY Downtown scene and beyond. He has performed and
recorded with artists Alex Acuna, Steven Bernstein, Dave Douglas, Mark Dresser,
Billy Drewes, Peter Erskine, Eric Friedlander, Vinny Golia, Eddie Gomez, Gerry
Hemingway, Ron Horton, Elissa Lala, Andy Laster, Michael Sarin, Foday Suso and
Cuong Vu, to name a few. Rossi is a regular at the Knitting Factory as both
leader and sideman on several different ensembles, including Biohazard, the
Anti-Matter Band, and the Mahavishnu Project. Rossi's work also has been heard
throughout the United States and Europe including performances at the NY,
Knitting Factory, Fringe, Singapore, MATA, Ravenna, Lincoln Center, Les Nuits de
Fourviere, and Montreux jazz festivals, WNYC's "New Sounds" and NPR's
"All Things Considered" as well as in Russia and the Far East. As a
leader, recent recordings include the critically acclaimed "They Have A
Word For Everything" (with Dave Douglas - Knitting Factory), "Inside
The Sphere" (with Kermit Driscoll and Charles Descarfino - Cadence), "Nosferatu,"
his live score for the silent horror film for percussion ensemble, twelve double
basses, clarinet (Andy Laster) and piano (recently featured on WNYC's New Sounds
with John Schaefer - Dreambox Media), John Valentino's "Searching
Souls" with Vinny Golia and Wadada Leo Smith (as drummer and pianist),
"Eight Shorts In Search of David Lynch" (with Freidlander, Sarin and
Valentino - ToneScience) and "New Math" with trumpeter Russ Johnson (ToneScience).
Available now on OmniTone Records is "One Block From Planet Earth"
(his second quintet recording - live from the Knit Main Space) and in summer
2005, "Songs From The Broken Land" (for solo piano). He is currently
guest curator for the up-coming MATA (Music At The Anthology) Festival in NY in
September. A regularly commissioned composer, Rossi has amassed a vast continuum
of work, encompassing a multiplicity of disciplines and media, some of which
include composing and performing music for the concert hall, dance, new music
and gamelan ensembles, universities, film, and recordings. Notable venues
include the Knitting Factory Composers Series, Jazz At Lincoln Center, New Wave
Festival, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, The Acropolis, WKCR, The Philadelphia Academy
of Music, The American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, Relache, The Eastman
School of Music, Rowan University, The Painted Bride, Merce Cunningham, LA
County Museum of Art, American Ballet Theater, and the Metropolitan Opera.
Awards and grants include Grammy nomination as Orchestrator/Keyboardist, Meet
The Composer, State Council on the Arts, and the Eubie Blake Scholarship. He
holds a B.A. in Percussion, studied under Dennis Sandole (teacher of John
Coltrane), and went on to pursue a Masters Degree in Composition from New York
University. Mick has also been heard as pianist in performance and on recordings
with numerous popular artists including Angela Bofill, Brandy, Jackson Browne,
Marc Cohn, Natalie Cole, Ry Cooder, Roger Daltry, Daryl Hall and John Oates,
Annie Haslam, Jewel, Arif Mardin, Randy Newman, David Sanborn, and Carly Simon
(including "Live At Grand Central"). Broadway credits include
"The Who's Tommy," "Jekyll and Hyde," and "The Full
Monty," among others. He has also scored, orchestrated and/or mixed films
airing on ABC, NBC, FOX, Disney, The History Channel, A&E, HBO's
"Vagina Monologues" and Artisan's hit film "Standing In The
Shadows Of Motown," and has made appearances on PBS, Lifetime, Jay Leno,
Good Morning America, VH-1, MTV and David Letterman.
Website: www.mickrossi.com
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