Marc Rossi’s bold, genre-transcending career as well as his inclusive compositions have led Down Beat magazine calling him “one the dynamic few whose cultural and musical awareness travels exponentially to many different directions.” Rossi is a versatile composer of contemporary classical music, a jazz composer and pianist, as well as an educator. He has been a key part of the vibrant Boston music scene since 1980. Rossi is a 25-year-old veteran of jazz and contemporary classical music, a long-time student of Hindustani and Carnatic music, and a full-time professor of piano and jazz composition at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Rossi received both his Bachelor’s u0026 Master’s degrees in composition from New England Conservatory. Rossi is an educator and has been at Berklee full-time since 1989 after having taught at Tufts University and NEC. Rossi has given guest lectures and taught jazz master classes at the Venice Ethnomusicology u0026 the Emerging World Music Market conference, UCLA, and other institutions. He also conducted NEC student ensembles for the MacArthur “Genius” Award-winning jazz musicians Ran Blake and George Russell. Rossi has been the leader of his jazz fusion group, The Marc Rossi Group since 1981. It released its first album, We Must Continue (MMC Recordings), in 1996. Scott Yanow, a prominent LA Jazz Scene critic, wrote that “the chance taking explorations are full of exciting moments” and that his eight originals were “complex, but always contain catchy melodies.” Rossi was a co-leader of the raga jazz exploring Row and Rossi Project from 1995-1999 with Peter Row, the NEC Provost. This marks the 10th anniversary for his duo with Ben Schwendener. Glenn Astarita, AllAboutJazz Modern Jazz Editor, chose Living Geometry (Gravity Records) as his Pick of September 2002. Rossi has been a sideman and has sung, recorded and composed extensively with many other jazz groups, including Stan Strickland, Ascension and Natraj. Rossi has also had premieres at renowned venues such as Boston’s Symphony Hall or Dvorak Hall, Prague. He has had his pieces performed by renowned musicians such as the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra and pianist Jeffrey Jacob. The Arden String Quartet, Indian classical guitarist Prasanna and cellist Xin Hua Ma have all premiered Rossi’s music. Rossi’s music was commissioned by Reuben Nakian, a legendary sculptor. Jacob called it “intensely expressive” and “consistently compelling”. Fanfare also described it as “lushly orchestrated, lyrically penive” and “intensely orchestrated.” Rossi is also a member the Boston-based Just in Time Composers.
