Joel Ross (vibraphonist)

Last updated

Joel Ross
Marquis Hill Blacktet 27 oktober 2017 BIM Amsterdam - Joel Ross (51335817457).jpg
Ross in 2017
Background information
Born1995 (age 2829)
South Side, Chicago
GenresJazz
Instrument(s) Vibraphone
Labels Blue Note
Member ofGood Vibes
Partner(s)Gabrielle Garo [1]
Alma mater
Website iplayvibes.com

Joel Ross (born 1995 [2] ) is an American jazz vibraphonist currently living in Brooklyn. Born and raised in Chicago, he was introduced to music by playing drums at his father's church, and got a musical education in high school and college. He later moved to New York City, where he developed into a professional jazz musician, signing with Blue Note Records.

Contents

Biography

Ross, the child of two police officers, was born in 1995 in the South Side of Chicago. He, along with his twin brother, Josh, [2] began learning drums at the age of three, playing at a Baptist church where their father was choir director. Growing up, Ross listened to gospel and R&B, as well as classic jazz records from Milt Jackson, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane, with Jackson being Ross's formative influence on vibraphone. [3] [4] He joined a middle school band at age ten, and switched to playing xylophone, as Josh got the drum slot. He also played in All City concert and jazz bands, comprised of musicians from multiple schools, in addition to working with the Jazz Institute of Chicago. [5]

Ross and his brother would later enroll at the Chicago High School for the Arts in 2009, the school's opening year, studying under flutist Nicole Mitchell. The school's partnership with the Jazz Institute of Chicago served as a conduit for Ross to meet older musicians such as Herbie Hancock, Gerald Clayton, and Stefon Harris, the latter of whom Ross met backstage at the Chicago Jazz Festival. [6] [7] Clayton, who visited Ross's high school as a guest artist, introduced Ross to other musicians of his generation, including Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire, and J Dilla. [8] : 8:15

At Harris's prompting, Ross auditioned for and won a spot in the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet. At the Institute, he studied under Harris for two years. In 2015, Ross moved to New York City to study music at The New School, where he formed his band Good Vibes. He dropped out of the university due to schedule constraints, but later took up virtual classes to complete his degree while in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. [5] [2]

After Ross dropped out of college, he toured with the Marquis Hill Blacktet, in which his vibraphone was the primary comping instrument. [9] Ross made his recording debut as a leader on his album KingMaker for in December 2016. It was released on Blue Note Records in 2019, after Ross was brought to the attention of label executive Don Was by his son, Sol Was. [8] : 32:10 That same year, Ross recorded his second album as a leader, Who Are You? , wishing to showcase how his band had developed since KingMaker was recorded. [2]

Playing style

Ross at the Kongsberg Jazzfestival in 2023 Joel Ross Kongsberg Jazzfestival 2023 (195514).jpg
Ross at the Kongsberg Jazzfestival in 2023

Despite playing the vibraphone, Ross has called it his "least favorite instrument", stating "I have a love-hate relationship with the vibraphone ... it's cold metal bars. It's really hard to get expression out of it. That's the challenge. So that's how I come at it, as a challenge." [10] Unlike many contemporary jazz vibraphonists, he plays with two mallets, not four, so as to avoid dictating harmony. To keep each note distinct, Ross avoids overusing the pedal on a vibraphone, which can blur them together. [2]

Rhythm is given special weight in Ross's music. When he leads a group, the members do not all play with the same pulse, so as to allow them to "[talk] to each other with different forms of rhythm", an approach inspired by Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet. [2] Ross's compositions often begin with a vamp and develop from that, and shift rhythms throughout. [10]

Awards

Discography

Source [6]

As leader

As sideman

With Makaya McCraven

With others

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vibraphone</span> Mallet percussion instrument

The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a vibraphonist,vibraharpist, or vibist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Shorter</span> American jazz saxophonist and composer (1933–2023)

Wayne Shorter was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary composer. In 1964 he joined Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet, and then co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report in 1970. He recorded more than 20 albums as a bandleader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Hutcherson</span> American jazz vibraphone and marimba player

Robert Hutcherson was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. "Little B's Poem", from the 1966 Blue Note album Components, is one of his best-known compositions. Hutcherson influenced younger vibraphonists including Steve Nelson, Joe Locke, and Stefon Harris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Holland</span> British jazz musician

David Holland is an English double bassist, bass guitarist, cellist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States since the early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Marsalis</span> American drummer

Jason Marsalis is an American jazz drummer, vibraphone player, composer, producer, band leader, and member of the Marsalis family of musicians. He is the youngest son of Dolores Ferdinand Marsalis and the late Ellis Marsalis, Jr.

<i>Out to Lunch!</i> 1964 studio album by Eric Dolphy

Out to Lunch! is a 1964 album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy. His only recording on Blue Note as a leader, it was issued as BLP 4163 and BST 84163. Featuring Dolphy in a quintet with trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, bassist Richard Davis and drummer Tony Williams, it was generally considered by critics as one of the finest albums issued on Blue Note, and widely viewed as one of the high points of 1960s avant-garde jazz. The album cover designed by Reid Miles features a photo of a "Will Be Back" sign displayed in a shop window showing a seven handed clock.

Edwin James Costa was an American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer and arranger. In 1957, he was chosen as DownBeat jazz critics' new star on piano and vibes – the first time that one artist won two categories in the same year. He became known for his percussive, driving piano style that concentrated on the lower octaves of the keyboard.

<i>Quintet/Sextet</i> 1956 studio album by Miles Davis and Milt Jackson

Miles Davis and Milt Jackson Quintet/Sextet, also known as Quintet/Sextet is a studio album by the trumpeter Miles Davis and vibraphonist Milt Jackson released by Prestige Records in August 1956. It was recorded on August 5, 1955. Credited to "Miles Davis and Milt Jackson", this was an "all-star" session, and did not feature any of the members of Davis's working group of that time. Alto saxophonist Jackie McLean appears on his own compositions “Dr. Jackle” and “Minor Apprehension”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Broom</span> American jazz guitarist, composer, and educator

Robert Broom Jr. is an American jazz guitarist, composer, and educator. He was born and raised in New York City, then moved to Chicago, which has been his home town since 1984. He performs and records with The Bobby Broom Trio and his organ group, The Bobby Broom Organi-Sation. While versed in the traditional jazz idioms, Broom draws from a variety of American music forms, such as funk, soul, R&B, and blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Miller (jazz musician)</span> American jazz pianist and vibraphone player

Edward Maxwell Miller was an American jazz pianist and vibraphone player. He had a forty year career that peaked in the 1940s and '50s. Many of his compositions use extended chord harmonies, polyphony, and polytonality and were influenced by Stravinsky, Bartók, and Hindemith.

<i>Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet</i>

Milt Jackson and the Thelonious Monk Quintet is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson, recorded on July 2, 1948, July 23, 1951 and April 7, 1952 and released on Blue Note in 1956. The latter two sessions were originally released on ten-inch LP as Wizard of the Vibes (1952).

"Bags' Groove" is a jazz composition by Milt Jackson. It was first recorded by the Milt Jackson Quintet on April 7, 1952 for Blue Note Records, later released on Wizard of the Vibes. Lou Donaldson, John Lewis, Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke were on that date. Next was the Mat Mathews quintet with Herbie Mann, Bud Powell, Mat Mathews again, a bootleg version by the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Lighthouse All-Stars, bassist Buddy Banks' quartet and then Jay Jay Johnson and Kai Winding. Other important recordings include those by Ray Bryant, Oscar Peterson, Al Haig, George Russell, Mal Waldron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Sherman (musician)</span> American jazz musician

Mark Sherman is a jazz vibraphonist, pianist, drummer, producer, arranger, author, and classical percussionist.

Sullivan Joseph Fortner is an American jazz pianist. He was the regular pianist in trumpeter Roy Hargrove's band from 2010 to 2017, and has released two albums on Impulse! Records.

Jason Adasiewicz is an American jazz vibraphonist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Gilmore</span> American jazz drummer (born 1986)

Marcus Gilmore is an American jazz drummer. In 2009, New York Times critic Ben Ratliff included Gilmore in his list of drummers who are "finding new ways to look at the drum set, and at jazz itself", saying, "he created that pleasant citywide buzz when someone new and special blows through New York clubs and jam sessions".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sasha Berliner</span> American vibraphonist and composer (born 1998)

Sasha Berliner is an American vibraphonist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Hart (musician)</span> British jazz musician

Jim Hart is a vibraphonist, drummer and composer on the European contemporary jazz and alternative music scene. He leads Cloudmakers Trio with Michael Janisch and Dave Smith and, since 2017, Cloudmakers Five with saxophonist Antonin-Tri Hoang and guitarist Hannes Riepler, in addition to Janisch and Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Irabagon</span> Musical artist

Jon Irabagon is a Filipino-American saxophonist, composer, and founder of Irabbagast Records.

Immanuel Wilkins is an American jazz saxophonist.

References

  1. "JOEL ROSS: MUSICAL PARABLES OF THE SOUL". www.jazzweekly.com. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Russonello, Giovanni (October 21, 2020). "How the Vibraphonist Joel Ross Keeps Finding Fresh Rhythms". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  3. Callwood, Brett (August 2019). "Signing Story: Joel Ross" (PDF). Music Connection . p. 26. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  4. Burch, Cathalena E. (January 11, 2024). "Legendary Jazz Label Brings Quintet". Arizona Daily Star . pp. K4. Retrieved June 1, 2024. They played in the church band and were inspired by gospel as well as the R&B and Motown they heard at home.
  5. 1 2 "Joel Ross". www.bluenote.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Collar, Matt. "Joel Ross Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  7. Musto, Russ (June 2019). "Artist Feature: Joel Ross" (PDF). New York City Jazz Record . p. 7. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Ross, Joel (March 9, 2021). "Gen Y Jazz Ep. 7 - Joel Ross" (Interview). Interviewed by Sean Britt. Retrieved May 27, 2024 via Youtube.
  9. Ross, Joel (May 22, 2019). "Rising Star Joel Ross brings his 'Good Vibes' to D.C." (Interview). Interviewed by Jackson Sinnenberg.
  10. 1 2 Chinen, Nate (May 23, 2019). "Joel Ross And His (Exceptionally) Good Vibes". NPR .
  11. "Monk Institute All-Star Sextet Visits Los Angeles Public Schools" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  12. "67th Annual Critics Poll" (PDF). DownBeat Magazizne. August 2019.
  13. "69th Annual Critics Poll" (PDF). DownBeat Magazizne. August 2021.
  14. "70th Annual Critics Poll" (PDF). DownBeat Magazizne. August 2022.
  15. "71st Annual Critics Poll" (PDF). DownBeat Magazizne. August 2023.
  16. Arvida, Rascón (April 13, 2022). "New Faces of Jazz — Joel Ross, Vibrophonist". KUVO . Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  17. "2020 Jazz/World" (in Dutch). Edison Award . Retrieved May 30, 2024.