Nikki Ross (born February 26, 1974) is an American gospel singer, pianist, arranger and composer from
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
She has worked as a vocalist and arranger
for artist such as Kirk Franklin, Ricky Dillard, Harry Connick Jr., Kim Burrell, Gladys Knight, Robert Glasper, PJ Morton, Dorinda Clark Cole, Smokie Norful, Martha Munizzi, Earnest Pugh, and Shaun Martin.
As well as being an accomplished vocalist Nikki Ross is also a skilled pianist and organist. She cities
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
as a major musical influence and like him she possesses
absolute pitch
Absolute pitch (AP), often called perfect pitch, is a rare ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone. AP may be demonstrated using linguistic labeling ("naming" a note), associating ...
. Other musical influences include
Ella Fitzgerald,
The Clark Sisters
The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm (born 1948), Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford (born 1953), Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born 1954), Dorinda Clark-Cole (born 1957), and Karen Clark ...
, and gospel music legend Bettye Ransom Nelson.
In reference to working with her on his 2007 Grammy award winning album, The Fight Of My Life,
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) a ...
refers to Nikki as a “musical genius” in the album credits.
Grammy winning Jazz musician
Harry Connick Jr. recognizes her as one of his favorite musicians.
Gospel artist Gary Mayes was quoted speaking about Ross to gospel music website GospelFlava, “She brings an unbelievable presence. She's always been compared to
Kim Burrell
Kimberly Jean Burrell (born August 27, 1972) is an American, Grammy–nominated, gospel singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor from Houston, Texas, United States.
Biography Early life
Born Kimberly Jean Burrell on August 27, 1972 in Houston, Te ...
and
Karen Clark-Sheard
Karen Valencia Clark Sheard ( née Clark; born November 15, 1960) is an American Grammy Award–winning Gospel singer, musician, songwriter, and businesswoman. Clark-Sheard is the wife of the current Church of God in Christ Presiding Bishop J. D ...
, but Nikki is her own! She has perfect pitch and she plays keyboard when she sings. With her vocal talent, she will go somewhere totally different than what you can grasp with your physical ear. It's almost unexplainable.”
References
External links
*https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nikki-ross-mn0000410342
*http://pathmegazine.com/news/gospel/famed-singer-nikki-ross-launches-solo-career-with-single-ready-for-change-launches-fundraising-campaign/
American gospel singers
Singers from Houston
1974 births
Living people
{{US-singer-stub