Photo: Tom Jamieson for The New York Times
OPTIONAL PRESHOW DINNER : The chef at The Howard is offering an extraordinary 3-course prix fixe preshow dinner option perfectly paired in spirit with Joel Ross’s show.
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What does swing mean in the 21st Century? Vibraphonist Joel Ross has some ideas. At the ripe young age of 25, Joel Ross has become ubiquitous on the New York scene. Not by forcing himself in, but by virtue of his rhythmic distinction and his adaptive spirit. Joel Ross has been refining an expression that’s true to his sound and his generation.
“Mr. Ross is an upstart reasserting how scholarly group improvisation, rooted in spiritual intent, might feel fresh — even provocative.”
Mr. Ross and his band treat rhythm as both fundamental and unfixed, while dousing the music in harmonies derived from modern gospel. “I want the possibilities to remain open — so rhythmically, not being in a set groove or just playing the pulse,” Mr. Ross said in a phone interview with the New York Times. In Good Vibes, he added, “We’re talking to each other with different forms of rhythm.”
In 2019, the vibraphonist-composer released his anticipated Blue Note debut to eruptive critical acclaim. DownBeat dubbed him a "rising star," and he became one of the youngest artists to receive a coveted Residency Commission from The Jazz Gallery. With his most recent 2020 Blue Note release, "Who Are You?," Ross shares the culmination of a year-long exercise in experimenting and risk-taking on and off the bandstand.
Mr. Ross was born in Chicago in 1995 and raised on the South Side by his parents, both police officers. They were active in their local Baptist church, where his father led the choir. Joel grew up learning the drums alongside his twin brother, Josh, at the knee of their godfather, switching to the vibraphone only reluctantly after Josh snagged the drum chair in their middle school band.
After graduating from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, Ross pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies from The New School in Manhattan. Now based in Brooklyn, he regularly performs across the country and around the world. He’s appeared at such storied venues and iconic events as Smalls Jazz Club, Umbria Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Village Vanguard, Duc des Lombards, Ronnie Scotts, Jazz Standard, Red Sea Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s and California Jazz Conservatory.
“The bright future stretching before Ross has as much to do with that emotional expression as anything that happens between his mallets and those metal bars.”
A steadfast improviser, Ross saturates live sets with a lyrical intuition that’s equally grounded in melody and phrasing. He plays the moment. Rather than impose energies on the music, he allows moods to set, linger and transform.