Russ Lossing (born 1960) is an American jazz pianist, composer, improviser, arranger, educator, scholar.

Early life

Lossing was born in Ohio in 1960,Pietaro, John (February 2015) "Russ Lossing". ''The New York City Jazz Record''. p. 7. and is from

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

.Adler, Davi
"Phrase 6 – Russ Lossing"
Fresh Sound Records. Retrieved April 18, 2015. He had classical piano lessons from the age of 5 and began studying jazz aged 13 in Columbus at the Jazz and Contemporary Workshop with Dave Wheeler. He obtained a Bachelor of Music in piano at Ohio State University in 1986. Meetings with composer

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

had a big effect:

We only had two occasions to get together and talk, but any time spent with him was utterly valuable. He read through my scores we played piano together. His thing was creating, not emulating: don't copy; trust YOURSELF. I was already going in this direction but this experience, listening to Cage's concepts and philosophy in this setting, made so much sense.

Later life and career

Lossing has been part of the New York jazz scene since 1986. In 1988 he earned a Master of Music from the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

. He has led or co-led numerous bands, including: his own trio with Masa Kamaguchi and Billy Mintz; Three-Part Invention with bassist Mark Helias and trumpeter Ralph Alessi; and duos with saxophonist Tim Berne, drummer Gerry Hemingway, and guitarist Ben Monder. Others are: trio with Paul Motian and Ed Schuller (Dreamer and As It Grows); trio with Mat Maneri and Mark Dresser (Metal Rat); trio with John Hebert and Jeff Williams (Phrase 6); quartet with Loren Stillman, John Hebert and Eric McPherson (Personal Tonal); King Vulture with Adam Kolker, Matt Pavolka and Dayeon Seok; and duos with saxophonist Loren Stillman, bassist John Hebert (Line Up,Hatology), and saxophonist Michael Adkins. Lossing played with drummer Paul Motian over a period of 12 years and recorded ''Drum Music'', a solo piano tribute album to him in 2011. The '' JazzTimes'' reviewer of ''Drum Music'' commented that "his two-fisted takes on 'Fiasco', 'Dance' and 'Drum Music' capture the great drummer's unpredictable and audacious rhythmic pulse. Lossing's stark re-imaginings of .. other Motian piecesall vibrate with a new spirit of exploration." Lossing has composed over 400 pieces of music. In 2015, he founded the record label Aqua Piazza.

Playing style

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

, reviewing Lossing's ''As It Grows'', commented that the pianist "is influenced by modern classical music to an extent but his playing is not unremittingly atonal. Instead, he leaves his impressionistic music open to all possibilities, mostly emphasizing dramatic ideas and unexpected silences."Yanow, Scot
"Review"
AllMusic. Retrieved April 18, 2015. Lossing said of his own style: "Much 20th century composition is about interval play, especially Bartok and

Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

's. The 12-tone thing helped him to get his ideas onto paper, but it was always about the intervals. I'm a jazz pianist but my harmonic approach is based on this concept – finding new sounds and new expressions among the intervals."

Discography

An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.

As leader/co-leader

As sideman (partial list)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lossing, Ross American jazz pianists American male pianists Living people American jazz composers American male jazz composers Musicians from Columbus, Ohio Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Jazz musicians from Ohio 21st-century American composers 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American composers 1960 births 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Clean Feed Records artists Sunnyside Records artists 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers