Kelly Rossum - Line Reviews

One of the Twin Cities most innovative jazz artists, trumpeter Kelly Rossum and his Quintet will celebrate his third CD release at the Artists Quarter this weekend, October 6-7. An accomplished composer, teacher, and bandleader as well as a can’t-miss performer, Rossum’s Line (612 Sides) is filled with sublime energy, catchy vamps and brilliant artistry from every member of the ensemble. A special treat on both the recording and on the AQ bandstand this weekend will be tenor saxophonist Woody Witt from Houston.

Wisconsin native Kelly Rossum comes by his musical chops honestly--his father played clarinet in college and in an Army band; his mother was an accomplished pianist. But it was Dizzy Gillespie’s performance on an episode of Sesame Street that first attracted young Kelly to jazz. Starting out on a rented cornet, he was soon playing along with Doc Severinson records on his new Bach trumpet. He cites as his primary (and very eclectic) influences Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, and J.S. Bach. After completing high school in Omaha and undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska, Rossum earned a Master’s degree at the University of North Texas in classical trumpet and recently completed doctoral work at the University of Minnesota with a specialization in baroque trumpet.

However, he says, “I’ve always played jazz. The recordings that I played along with as a kid were jazz records from the late 70s. The first record I bought was Miles Davis, ‘Round About Midnight. Even through high school, I played jazz and arranged pop music for a small pep band. Since the trumpet is such a difficult instrument, I needed to study from the best players I could find; hence, classical trumpet lessons. The technical proficiency needed to meet the demands of classical music is a great challenge that I continue to face today.”

After working as the big band director at Busch Gardens in Virginia, Rossum moved to Minneapolis in 1996. Since then, he has freelanced in rock, swing, jazz and classical ensembles and performed with the Lyra Consort; he is on the faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music as a trumpet and jazz instructor. With his own jazz bands, Rossum released the all-acoustic Party’s Over/Begun (2002, Yebo).

In 2004, he released Renovation (612 Sides), which was named one of the top 20 local albums of the year by the Star Tribune and one of the top 10 by City Pages. Noted Courtney Lewis in Minnesota Monthly, Renovation “solidifies what the local jazz scene has come to love about him: studious authority and the knowledge necessary to pull off unconventional compositions and instrumental choices.”

These days, Kelly Rossum keeps busy with his many projects, in addition to recording: He performs regularly with his Quintet, often as part of the Late at the Dakota series; he also performs with Cuban keyboard dynamo Nachito Herrera; Electropolis, an experimental jazz/rock band featuring electric bass, sax and trumpet with drums; the Pat Moriarty & Ellen Lease Quintet; Pete Whitman’s X-Tet; and the new Out to Lunch Quintet (OTLQ), a band dedicated to the music of Eric Dolphy that will release its debut recording next month. His teaching schedule is also packed with lessons and master classes as part of his duties as Jazz Coordinator for the MacPhail Center for Music. This fall, Rossum is leading a joint project of MacPhail and the Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education, the first-ever Dakota Combo. He’ll direct a septet of high school jazz artists from the metro area through rigorous rehearsals in preparation for December performances at the Dakota, featuring guest artist/instructor, the great altoist Bobby Watson.

On Line, Kelly brings us an ensemble without keyboard (inspired by the great quartet sound of Ornette Coleman), featuring long-time quartet associates Chris Thomson (tenor and soprano sax), Chris Bates (bass), JT Bates (drums), along with former North Texas cohort Woody Witt (tenor sax). Says Kelly, Line is “a concept album devoted to exploring free harmonies through melodic development…This CD has been the most fun to record; it was a wild time, and I think we captured that feeling on the disc!” Regarding the piano-less format of his current Quintet, Kelly notes that this instrumentation “allows for more creativity and flexibility within the harmonic choices of the horn lines. Without a chordal instrument, the improvisations can dance freely around the structure of the tune. This line-up evokes thoughts of the famous Chet Baker/ Gerry Mulligan bands and the Ornette Coleman/ Don Cherry collaborations of the 50s, although our music is quite different.” The playlist “swings from peacefully ambling (“La Vita a Roma”) to slow and smoky (“Sitting on the Dock Looking at Stars”) to barn-burning fast (“Line III”), and the musicians work together to pull off each shift gracefully.”

In addition to Kelly, Line features Chris Thomson, who leads Anamika and plays tenor and soprano sax regularly with the Jazz Is Now! Orchestra and Nonet, the Paul Renz Quartet, and other ensembles, in addition to his own quartet. He taught at the MacPhail Center of Music, is a former band director at Rosemount High School, and has been involved in the Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth, teaching improvisation. Chris Bates and his brother, drummer JT, grew up with jazz, sons of trumpeter/bandleader Don Bates. A member of the Motion Poets, Chris has focused more on composing (he was a 1999 McKnight Composer Fellow) and playing regularly with Low Blow and the guitar trios, Framework and Red Planet. J.T. Bates is one of the busiest drummers in the Twin Cities, on and off the bandstand. He was a member of Motion Poets, has played and recorded with Doug Little, and recently has worked with a variety of Latin, electronic, and experimental ensembles, including Low Blow and Fat Kid Wednesdays. All three will be featured in the upcoming Minnesota Sur Seine Festival.

Houston tenorman Woody Witt has been influenced by a wide range of genres from classical to pop to jazz, A native of Omaha, Witt earned degrees at the University of Houston and North Texas U, where he taught saxophone and jazz methods. Currently Woody teaches fulltime at Houston Community College and is an affiliate artist at the University of Houston, while also serving as manager/artistic director of one of the Houston's few jazz clubs, Cézanne. He’s performed or recorded with a long list of jazz artists including Tim Hagans, Louis Hayes, James Moody, Conrad Herwig, David Liebman, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Joe Lovano, Tom Harrell, and Branford Marsalis. Woody was in town last winter with the Kelly Rossum Quartet at the Dakota.

For an evening full of creative energy, there’s no better gig than the Kelly Rossum Quintet’s CD Release Party this weekend at the AQ!

The Artists Quarter is located at 7th Place and St. Peter St. in downtown St. Paul, in the lower level of the Hamm Building. Sets start at 9 pm; cover $10. Visit www.artistsquarter.com; for more about Kelly Rossum, visit www.krossum.com



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