Profile
A visionary pianist, composer, ensemble leader and educator Michele Rosewoman stands out as a vanguard and pioneering artist in her field, expanding the horizons and boundaries of jazz while remaining firmly rooted in tradition.
Rosewoman’s innovative projects and recordings have received great critical acclaim and recognition including a Grammy (2016), a recent 2021 South Arts Jazz Road Residency grant, National Endowment for the Arts, ASCAP/Meet the Composer and numerous Chamber Music America New Works Creation & Presentation grants and commissions. Her recordings have garnered the #1 and #3 NPR Best Recordings of the Year awards (2013 and 2019). She has presented her music and various ensembles at jazz festivals, concert halls and jazz clubs throughout the world
A dedicated educator, Ms. Rosewoman has taught throughout her 40-year career, conducting educational workshops at colleges and universities throughout the U.S, teaching piano and composition privately, has held past and current positions at NYU and the New School, and serves on faculty of The Jazz House Kids in Montclair, NJ, teaching theory, piano, composition and ensemble.
From Oakland California Rosewoman attributes much of her traditionally rooted but wide-open vision of music to her mentor, the great pianist / organist, Ed Kelly . Her passion for percussion led her to avidly explore Cuban folkloric idioms with an emphasis on the ritualized, spiritual aspects of the music. These early explorations profoundly impacted Rosewoman’s musical direction with a pervasive influence on the formation of her sound as a pianist and composer.
Before moving to New York in 1978, Rosewoman had performed with her own ensembles at venues on the West coast such as the renowned Keystone Korner and the Bumbershoot Jazz Festival—and with Julian Priester, Julius Hemphill, Butch Morris, Baikida Carroll, Oliver Lake and other jazz innovators. In New York, Rosewoman went on to perform, record and tour with notable New York-based jazz artists Jimmy Heath, Freddie Waits, Billy Hart, Billy Harper, Reggie Workman, James Spaulding, Gary Bartz, John Stubblefield, Rufus Reid, Howard Johnson, Ralph Peterson, Billy Bang and Carlos Ward, among many others. In the Latin genre she has performed with Celia Cruz, Paquito D’Rivera, Chocolate, Orlando 'Puntilla' Rios' “Nueva Generacion,” Daniel Ponce, Pedrito Martinez, Roman Diaz, Nicky Marrero, Andy Gonzales and many others.
A fearless bandleader and mentor, Rosewoman is best known for her 2 highly acclaimed and long-standing ensembles. She has consistently assembled dynamic bands and nurtured talent, enabling her ensembles to evolve while remaining true to their distinctive sound.
“Quintessence”, with 5 releases to date, brings together some of the most inventive voices in jazz including Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Gary Thomas, Steve Wilson, Miguel Zenon and Mark Shim; trombonists VIncent Gardner and Robin Eubanks, bassists Kenny Davis, Lonnie Plaxico and Brad Jones, drummers Terri Lyne Carrington and Tyshawn Sorey and guitarist Liberty Ellman.
“Michele Rosewoman has probed many important junctures in jazz history. She's fluent in Monk, Bill Evans and Bud Powell, but her influences don't end there...she is a modern day lightning rod to the innovations of the past and the tense uncertainties of today. Gavin Report”
“New Yor-Uba, A Musical Celebration of Cuba in America” debuted in 1983 and presents an uncompromised synthesis of contemporary jazz and traditional Cuban folkloric music, uniting fellow master musicians from both musical worlds. Now with an almost 40-year progression, New Yor-Uba's concept and sound remain uniquely vital as Rosewoman continues to enhance the ensemble's repertoire with new music and personnel, further inspiring her to reflect upon and explore the links between these deep musical traditions.
Dazzling tracks...startling for its balance of unfettered improvisation and undiluted Cuban folklore within a complex and often grand structure." Larry Blumenfeld / The Wall Street Journal