Michele Rosewoman was born and raised in Oakland, CA. She studied jazz tradition with Ed Kelly, a great pianist/organist. While playing percussion, she also studied Cuban/Haitian folkloric concepts. Rosewoman was already performing at San Francisco Bay Area venues with her own bands and with Julius Hemphill and Baikida Carroll by the time she moved to New York City in 1978. Rosewoman presented her music in New York while working with Reggie Workman and James Spaulding. She also collaborated with Billy Hart, Rufus Reid, Reggie Workman, James Spaulding and Billy Hart. Rosewoman was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1983 to create the 14-piece New Yor-Uba: A Musical Celebration of Cuban America. The group debuted at The Public Theater in December 1983 and then toured Europe in 1984. Since then, New Yor-Uba has toured across the United States as well as Europe. The ensemble includes many jazz and latin musicians like Andy Gonzales and Pedro Martinez, Steve Berrios and Bob Stewart, Oliver Lake and Gary Thomas. Rosewoman has released eight albums as a leader, the majority with Quintessence, her critically acclaimed group. Quintessence, Rosewoman’s main instrument for her evolution as a pianist, composer, and bandleader, has made its debut at New York’s Cooper Union Great Hall in 1986. Some of the most innovative voices in jazz include Steve Coleman, Greg Osby and Gary Thomas, Steve Wilson and Miguel Zenon, as well as trombonists Robin Eubanks, Vincent Gardner and Brad Jones, and bassists Kenny Davis and Lonnie Plaxico. There are also drummers Terri Lyne Crrington and Gene Jackson and guitarists Liberty Ellman, Dave Fiuczynski. Rosewoman’s latest recording, The In Side Out, was recorded with Quintessence in 2006. It was released on Advance Dance Disques in 2006. Jazziz praised the album with great praise. She said that Rosewoman is “once again an original thinker making forward-looking jazz which just happens be accessible and viscerally thrilling.” Rosewoman also has five recordings with Quintessence. She also has two recordings as a trio. Occasion To Rise (Evidence/1993), voted one of the best recordings of 1993 by six critics’ polls, and the critically acclaimed Spirit Blue Note (1996), recorded live at Montreal Jazz Festival. Rosewoman has been awarded numerous grants including an ASCAP/Meet the Composer Commission for Emerging Composers grant in 1984. This resulted in a new work that was written for the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, along with a group of improvisers. Rosewoman and Quintessence were awarded a 2003 and 2008 Chamber Music America/Doris Duke Foundation New Works Creation and Presentation Commission. In 2006, they also received one of the first Chamber Music America Encore grants. Michele Rosewoman has performed at numerous jazz festivals, concerts halls, clubs and venues in the United States, Canada, Europe, and elsewhere. Rosewoman is an educator and teaches composition and piano privately. She also conducts workshops, classes and clinics at universities and colleges across the US. Rosewoman also holds past and current teaching positions in NYU and at the New School for Social Research. from www.michelerosewoman.com
