Current members of Quintessence: Brad Jones, Tyshawn Sorey,
Loren Stillman, Jacob Yoffee
March 2009
My treasured mentor, associate, friend and featured member of New Yor-Uba since its debut in 1983, Orlando “Puntilla” Rios. - Baba Tobi, Chani Ilu Aña, - passed away on August 12, 2008. New Yor-Uba performed in his honor at Hostos College on March 14th 2009.
Our association began in 1981. when he first came here from Cuba. The impact of his musical and spritual guidance and contributions to my New Yor-Uba ensemble are beyond words. Master tambolero, rumbero and vocalist in the tradition of Afro-Cuban sacred and secular music-- revered in Cuba, the US and Europe-- we had the great honor and blessing of his presence here.
Other News I received a 2008 Chamber Music America New Works: Presentation Grant for my Quintessence ensemble plus guest instrumentalists (on trombone and guitar) Thanks to CMA for giving me the opportunity to further explore the expanded version of Quintessence. The new music will be debuted at the 2009 VIsion Festival. Please check out "With You In Mind" for a sample of Quintessence plus trombone. It's on our latest release, "The In Side Out", which is now available on this page for digital download.
Influences
Long list, but here's the short version...Pianist Ed Kelly (Oakland), Lee Morgan, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Bobby Timmons, Donald Brown, Herbie Hancock, Julius Hemphill, Baikida Carroll, Oliver Lake, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Art Blakey, The Wynans, Saragh Vaughn, Billy Holiday, Betty Carter, Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind and Fire, Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix,The Sons of Champlin, D'Angelo, SWV, Prince, Orlando 'Puntilla' Rios, Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba, Los Papines, Celia Cruz, Ritmo Oriental, Yoruba Andabo, Clave y Guaguanco, Papo Luca, Cecil Taylor, The Temptations, Curtis Mayfield, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Charlie Parker, Dewey Redman, Archie Shepp, Bud Powell, Art Tatum ...to be continued.
Art By Estera
This slide show features my mother's artwork which has enriched me throughout my life This site gives me the opportunity to share it with you. Titles for each work to be posted soon--
With the October 3, 2006 release of The In Side Out (Advance Dance Disques AD 0353) - Michele Rosewoman’s first new recording since 2000 and the fifth featuring her ensemble Quintessence - the acclaimed pianist/composer once again makes a powerful creative statement that showcases the breadth and depth of her musicality and affirms her position as one of the most original and innovative instrumentalists and composers on the global jazz scene. Ms. Rosewoman is heard here with a core ensemble featuring the powerful frontline of saxophonists Mark Shim and Miguel Zenon, augmented by Dave Fiuczynski on guitar, Josh Roseman on trombone, and Pedro Martinez on percussion. Self-produced, The In Side Out is undoubtedly Rosewoman’s most multi-faceted recording to date - from their conversational and energy-inspired ensemble sound to sophisticated funk and electric fusion, to spiritually based rhythmic and vocal traditions. As on her previous recordings for Blue Note, Soul Note, Enja, Evidence and Toshiba/EMI, Rosewoman expands the horizons of jazz while remaining firmly rooted in the music’s illustrious tradition.
Michele Rosewoman was born in Oakland, CA and started playing piano at age six, studying jazz traditions with the great pianist/organist Ed Kelly. In her late teens she began playing percussion and studying Cuban/Haitian folkloric idioms. By the time she moved to New York in 1978, she had already performed at major venues in the San Francisco Bay Area with her own ensembles and with Julian Priester, Julius Hemphill, Baikida Carroll and Oliver Lake and other fellow jazz innovators. In New York, Rosewoman formed new ensembles and continued to present her music, collaborating with Rufus Reid, Reggie Workman, Freddie Waits, James Spaulding, Billy Hart, Carlos Ward and others, as well as with Cuban master drummer/vocalist, Orlando ‘Puntilla’ Rios, and other musicians in the folkloric community.
In 1983 she received an NEA grant to form the pioneering 14-piece ensemble “New Yor-Uba, A Musical Celebration of Cuba in America” that debuted at The Public Theater that December and appeared at festivals throughout Europe in 1984. That year she made her recording debut as pianist and arranger for the Cuban songo group Los Kimy. Her experience as a percussionist continues to shape many aspects of her music. In the Latin music genre, Rosewoman has performed with Puntilla’s “Nueva Generacion,” Celia Cruz, Paquito D’Rivera, Daniel Ponce and Chocolate among others.
Rosewoman received the ASCAP/Meet the Composer Commission for Emerging Composers that year (awarded by Dizzy Gillespie, Marian McPartland and Lester Bowie) resulting in a new work performed by the 40-piece Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra and a quintet of improvisers, including Rufus Reid, Greg Osby and Howard Johnson.
Rosewoman’s recording debut as a leader, The Source (Soul Note/1984) was praised for its radiance and ingenuity. Quintessence (Enja/1987) was named by numerous critics and polls as one of the best jazz releases of the year and has been cited as one of the best jazz recordings of the 1980's. As Ms. Rosewoman established a reputation as one of the most ingenious and prolific bandleaders of her generation, Down Beat wrote: "…She communicates assurance and ardor whether on the cutting edge of jazz or within the mainstream. What musicianship and moving expression! Bring on the future."
In addition to five recordings with Quintessence, Ms. Rosewoman has two trio recordings: Occasion To Rise (Evidence/1993), which was voted one of the year’s best recordings by six critics’ polls, and Spirit (Blue Note/1996), which was recorded live at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
Since its debut in 1986 at the Cooper Union Great Hall in New York, Quintessence has been the main vehicle for Rosewoman's evolution as pianist, composer and bandleader. She assembled dynamic bands to interpret her writing, and became known for bringing together musicians who today are some of the most inventive voices in jazz, including saxophonists Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Gary Thomas, David Sanchez, Steve Wilson, Antonio Hart, Miguel Zenon and Mark Shim; bassists Kenny Davis, Anthony Cox and Lonnie Plaxico; and drummers Terri Lyne Carrington, Gene Jackson and Tyshawn Sorey. Many have cited the experience of playing in Quintessence as notably influential in their development as musicians, composers and bandleaders.
Regarding Ms. Rosewoman’s previous Quintessence release, Guardians of the Light (Enja/2000), an NPR review noted: “ …[She] sounds more than ever the confident master of her committed course. An indomitable modern jazz pianist, her singular sound ideas expand readily to her dark, fiery ensembles. So it all comes together, big, tight and flexible, rangy, spontaneous, serious and mysterious. Rosewoman and her band are jazz believers, jazz devotees, keepers of the flame."
Rosewoman and Quintessence received a 2008 and 2003 Chamber Music America/Doris Duke Foundation New Works Creation and Presentation Commission. In 2006 they received one of the first Chamber Music America Encore Grants. .
Rosewoman has appeared at jazz festivals, concert halls and clubs throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe including the JVC, Ravinia, Atlanta, San Francisco, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, North Sea, Paris, Warsaw and Berlin jazz festivals and Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Cooper Union Great Hall, the Public Theater, MOMA, NYU, Temple University, Stanford University, The Blue Note (New York & Tokyo), the Village Vanguard, The Apollo, Sweet Basil, Birdland, Jazz Standard, Yoshi's, New Morning (Paris) and the Jazz Café (London).
As an educator she conducts classes, workshops and clinics at colleges and universities around the US while teaching piano and composition privately. Ms. Rosewoman has also held past and current teaching positions at NYU and the New School for Social Research and in February 2006 a composition department residency at Berklee College of Music.
Updated September 2009
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Activities of Note 2009
Sept 11 ----An die Musik Baltimore MD Solo Piano
Sept 8 ------Richmond Jazz Society VA Quartet with Mark Shim
Aug 3-21 --Workshop Montclair State Univ N.J. / Jazz Connections
July 20 -----Quintessence Plus Guests Bushnell Park Hartford Jazz Society
June 14 ----Vision Fest 2009 Quintessence Plus Guests debut CMA new works
March 14 ---New Yor-Uba performance Hostos College, Bronx NY
March 1 ----Trio performance & piano workshop The Jazz School Berkeley
Jan 10 ----- Caribbean Cultural Center Puntilla tribute w/ New Yor-Uba members 2008
Dec, 13 ----Schomburg Center with New Yor-Uba members, Puntilla tribute
Aug 4-22 --Workshop Montclair State Univ N.J. / Jazz Connections
April -------Knoxville Jazz Festival, quintet w/ Ralph Peterson
April -------Workshop / University of Tennessee, Knoxville 2007
Aug ------- Chicago Jazz Festival Quintessence Plus Guests
May -------American Museum of Natural History NYC Quintesence
April -------Augusta University, GA Quintesence
March -----Rubin Museum, NYC Trio w/Quintessence members
March ----- University of Massachussetts, Amherst MA New Yor-Uba
I remember you tuning a piano by ear for the Hank Mobley tribute. I had carried his horn in for him from outside. Look forward to maybe hooking up to play your great music "sister" someday.
Hey, Girl! I miss your playing...it has been years since I saw you live, but even with that, the experience has left an amazing memory for me. You are the "woman"...and you play that piano like no other. You are an
amazing talent. A monster talent.
