Josh Rosen: Piano, Keyboards, Composition
Josh Rosen is a talented pianist and prolific composer who has released seven albums. In a review of American Waltz, which features jazz masters George Garzone and Mick Goodrick, Lucid Culture calls Rosen’s “sophisticated (compositions) alternately melodic and more tonally abstruse jazz. There’s a sensibility ranging from sly and funny to warmly, indelibly tuneful…absolutely gorgeous.”
Rosen has performed and recorded with other jazz greats such as Joe Lovano, Greg Hopkins, Bob Moses, Stan Strickland, Phil Grenadier, John Lockwood, Dennis Irwin, Steve Slagle, Bennie Wallace, George Schuller, The Either/Orchestra and Ethiopian master musicians Mulatu Astake and Mahmoud Ahmed, among many others.
With Boston legend Stan Strickland (woodwinds, vocals), Rosen has produced three stellar albums: the intimate duo, ”Instinct”; “Seasons”, a jazz Quartet; and in 2019, “Three Moments”, a brilliant improvisational trio with master percussionist Ra Kalam Bob Moses.
In 2016, ZiggleZaggle Music released a folk influenced duo project, “Brothers”, with Ralph Rosen (harmonica, drums). Josh recorded keyboards, bass and guitar. Rosen’s jazz chamber project “Sparks” (2017), features cellist Eugene Friesen, Strickland and drummer Mark Walker. The CD was honored to be included in the Grammy nomination list. There’s also a tribute album, “The Music of Paul Motian and Spontaneous Compositions…” with legendary avant-garde bassist John Voigt.
Rosen is active in numerous other bands, including the cutting edge jazz collective; “The Outnumbered”; the electric improvisational group “Adventures in Sound”, featuring guitar maverick David Tronzo; and a funky improvisational stew called “The Melting Pot”, which blends mind blowing vocals, sax/guitar jams, and psychedelic keyboards to create a new free form dance concert. And here’s more about his jazz writing and media coverage.
Rosen is Professor of Piano and Ensembles at Berklee College of Music, now in his 24th year. An international clinician with a Masters Degree from New England Conservatory, Rosen studied with pianist Fred Hersch, and composers William Thomas McKinley and Robert Cogan. He has composed music and sound design for numerous film and media projects. Stan Strickland: Musician, Actor, Dancer
Stan Strickland is a vocalist, saxophone and flutist. He has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Scandinavia, the Caribbean, New Zealand and the former Soviet Union. Strickland’s journeys include a tour of South Africa with The Village People. Performances have ranged from a world premier at the Sundance Film Festival to a featured performance with Take Six and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall. He has also performed at Jordan Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, Town Hall (New York) and The Kennedy Center.
Strickland has appeared with jazz greats Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Mann, Danilo Perez, Shirley Scott and Marlena Shaw. He has opened for Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins.
Strickland’s playing has been featured on recordings by Bob Moses, Marty Ehrlich, Webster Lewis and Brute Force. Love & Beauty (Hawkline Records), Stan’s vocal CD, features new arrangements of jazz classics as well as original material.
In addition, Strickland is an actor, and has appeared in leading roles in the Boston Art Group’s production of Harlem Renaissance, Northeastern University’s production of Crossing John, and as Dr. Sax in a production of Jon Lipsky’s play about Jack Kerouac, Maggie’s Riff, produced by the Vineyard Playhouse.
In the dance world, Stan has performed and collaborated with over a dozen choreographers including Alvin Ailey, Jose Limon, and Bill T. Jones.
Stan is profiled and featured in the documentary Black Man Up.
Stan has a M.A. degree from Lesley College in Expressive Arts Therapy where he is an adjunct professor. He also teaches at Berklee College of Music, Tufts University, and Longy School of Music.
Stan is Co-Executive Director of Express Yourself, a multidisciplinary team of professional artists, working in partnership with adolescents in public mental health residential facilities to produce multimedia performances that celebrate the restorative powers of serious art making. 