Michele Rosewoman (born March 19, 1953) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist who leads the big band New Yor-Uba. She has worked with

Baikida Carroll Baikida Carroll (born January 15, 1947) is an American jazz trumpeter. Carroll studied at Southern Illinois University and at the Armed Forces School of Music. Following this he became a member of the Black Artists Group in St. Louis, where he di ...

, Julius Hemphill,

Julian Priester Julian Priester (born June 29, 1935) is an American jazz trombonist and occasional euphoniumist. He is sometimes credited "Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto". He has played with Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock. B ...

Oliver Lake Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black ...

, Billy Bang,

Freddie Waits Frederick "Freddie" Douglas Waits (April 27, 1943 – November 18, 1989) was a hard bop and post-bop drummer. Waits never officially recorded as leader, but was a prominent member and composer in Max Roach's M'Boom percussion ensemble. He work ...

, Rufus Reid, Billy Hart,

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Career Early in his career, Workman wo ...

, Celia Cruz, Chocolate Armenteros, and Paquito D'Rivera.

Early years

Rosewoman was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, United States,) and is the daughter of visual artist Estera Roseman. Her parents operated an independent

record shop A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records, but over the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were ...

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland. With a total population of 70,127 per the 2020 census, Walnut Creek s ...

, and her mother was also an arts educator. Rosewoman began playing the piano at age six. In her late teens she studied

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n and Haitian folkloric rhythms and vocal traditions.

Discography

* ''The Source'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1984) * ''Occasion to Rise'' ( Evidence, 1993) * ''Spirit'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

, 1996) * ''New Yor-uba, 30 Years: A Musical Celebration of Cuba in America'' (Self-release, 2013) With Quintessence * ''Quintessence'' ( Enja, 1987) * ''Contrast High'' (Enja, 1988) * ''Harvest'' (Enja, 1993) * ''Guardians of the Light'' (Enja, 2000) * ''The In Side Out'' ( Advance Dance Disques, 2006) As backing musician * Billy Bang – '' Rainbow Gladiator'' (Soul Note, 1981) * Greg Osby — '' Greg Osby and Sound Theatre'' (JMT, 1987) *

— ''

Otherside "Otherside" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was released as the third single from their seventh studio album, ''Californication'' (1999), and confronts the battles addicts have with their prior addictions. The track was ...

'' (Gramavision, 1988) * Andy Laster – ''Hippo Stomp'' (Sound Aspects, 1989)

References

External links

Jazz pianist, composer and educator Michele Rosewoman, leader of Quintessence and New Yor-Uba
Official Homepage
Michele Rosewoman , Jazz from New York, NYMichele Rosewoman , Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos

Sources

* Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian. ''Jazz: The Rough Guide'', 1995, The Rough Guides, . * Cook, Richard, ''Jazz Encyclopedia''. Penguin 2005, {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosewoman, Michele 1953 births Living people Musicians from Oakland, California Post-bop pianists Free jazz pianists Afro-Cuban jazz pianists American jazz pianists Avant-garde jazz pianists 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from California 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists 21st-century American women pianists Women jazz musicians