Michael Philip Mossman
Encyclopedia
Michael Philip Mossman is an American hard bop
jazz
trumpeter.
Mossman's early career included a tour of Europe with Anthony Braxton
in 1978 and tours with Roscoe Mitchell
in the early 1980s. He also did session
work in the 1980s, for Styx
among others. He played with Lionel Hampton
, Art Blakey
's Jazz Messengers, and Machito
before joining the Blue Note Records
ensemble Out of the Blue
in 1985. Following this he worked with Toshiko Akiyoshi
, Horace Silver
(1989–91), Gerry Mulligan
(1992), Dizzy Gillespie
, Slide Hampton
, Michel Camilo
, Mario Bauza
, Eddie Palmieri
, and the Philip Morris Superband. He has also appeared in the documentary Calle 54
(2000).
. He scored music to the award winning film Chico and Rita
. Mossman works regularly as guest performer, arranger and conductor with the radio orchestras in Germany. He arranged and conducted Mambo Nights with Arturo Sandoval
with the WDR Bigband of Cologne (2008), and Spirits Dancing with David Sanborn
with the HR Bigband of Frankfurt (2009), while Latin Jazz Latino with Joe Gallardo was recorded by the NDR Bigband of Hamburg and released on Skip Records (2006) . His ballet, Beneath the Mask, was performed at Harris Theater
in Chicago
by Jon Faddis
and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and the Deeply Rooted Dance Company, choreographed by Mayte Vicens in 2006. His arrangement of Jon Faddis' "Teranga" was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra at Kimmel Center in 2006. His arrangement of Paquito D'Rivera's "I Remember Diz" was performed by the Louisiana Philharmonic in 2010.
2007 Disney, Stepford Wives 2004 Paramount, Mona Lisa Smile
2003 Columbia Tristar) and has two daughters, Anayvelyse and Maria. He also has two sisters named Leslie (Giuliani) and Janet (Locke). Mossman is Director of Jazz Studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College/CUNY.
With Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
With Jazz at Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
With Jimmy Heath
With Horace Silver
With Joe Henderson
With Bob Mintzer
With Joe Zawinul
With Tito Puente
With Chico O'Farrill
With Mario Bauza
With Ray Barretto
With Michel Camilo
With Pat Metheny
With Chaka Khan
With Styx
With Roscoe Mitchell
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trumpeter.
Mossman's early career included a tour of Europe with Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton
Anthony Braxton is an American composer, saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, and philosopher. Braxton has released well over 100 albums since the 1960s...
in 1978 and tours with Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell is an African American composer, jazz instrumentalist and educator, mostly known for being "a technically superb—if idiosyncratic—saxophonist." He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past...
in the early 1980s. He also did session
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
work in the 1980s, for Styx
Styx (band)
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
among others. He played with Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
's Jazz Messengers, and Machito
Machito
Machito , born as Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, was an influential Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music...
before joining the Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
ensemble Out of the Blue
Out of the Blue (band)
Out of the Blue was an American jazz ensemble founded by Blue Note Records in the 1980s as a showcase for the label's younger musicians. They formed in 1984, releasing four albums and touring extensively over the next five years. Their most commercially successful album was 1986's Live at Mt....
in 1985. Following this he worked with Toshiko Akiyoshi
Toshiko Akiyoshi
is a Japanese American jazz pianist, composer/arranger and bandleader. Among a very few successful female instrumentalists of her generation in jazz, she is also recognized as a major figure in jazz composition. She has received 14 Grammy nominations, and she was the first woman to win the Best...
, Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
(1989–91), Gerry Mulligan
Gerry Mulligan
Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
(1992), Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Slide Hampton
Slide Hampton
Locksley Wellington "Slide" Hampton is an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger.He was a 1998 Grammy Award winner for "Best Jazz Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist", as arranger for "Cotton Tail" performed by Dee Dee Bridgewater...
, Michel Camilo
Michel Camilo
Michel Camilo is a pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work...
, Mario Bauza
Mario Bauza
Mario Bauzá was an important Cuban musician. He was one of the first to introduce Latin music to the United States by bringing Cuban musical styles into the New York jazz scene...
, Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri , is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.-Early years:...
, and the Philip Morris Superband. He has also appeared in the documentary Calle 54
Calle 54
Calle 54 is a 2000 documentary film about Latin jazz by Spanish director Fernando Trueba. With only minimal introductory voiceovers, the film consists of studio performances by a wide array of Latin Jazz musicians. Artists featured include Chucho Valdés, Bebo Valdés, Cachao, Eliane Elias, Gato...
(2000).
Recent career
Mossman's recent activity includes work with Academy Award winning director Fernando TruebaFernando Trueba
Fernando Trueba is a Spanish book editor, screenwriter, film director and producer.Between 1974 and 1979 worked as a film critic for Spain's leading daily newspaper EL PAIS. In 1980, founded the monthly film magazine CASABLANCA, which he edited and directed during its first two years...
. He scored music to the award winning film Chico and Rita
Chico and Rita
Chico and Rita is an animated feature-length film directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal. The story of Chico and Rita is set against backdrops of Havana, New York City, Las Vegas, Hollywood and Paris in the late 1940s and early 1950s.-Synopsis:...
. Mossman works regularly as guest performer, arranger and conductor with the radio orchestras in Germany. He arranged and conducted Mambo Nights with Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval is a jazz trumpeter and pianist. He was born in Artemisa, in the newest renamed Artemisa Province, Cuba....
with the WDR Bigband of Cologne (2008), and Spirits Dancing with David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
with the HR Bigband of Frankfurt (2009), while Latin Jazz Latino with Joe Gallardo was recorded by the NDR Bigband of Hamburg and released on Skip Records (2006) . His ballet, Beneath the Mask, was performed at Harris Theater
Harris Theater
The Harris Theater is a landmark building at 809 Liberty Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Cultural District.Built as Art Cinema, it was the first Pittsburgh venue to show only "art movies". In the 1960s, however, it featured pornographic films at a time when Liberty Avenue was a...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
by Jon Faddis
Jon Faddis
Jon Faddis is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator renowned for both his highly virtuosic command of the instrument and for his expertise in the field of music education...
and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and the Deeply Rooted Dance Company, choreographed by Mayte Vicens in 2006. His arrangement of Jon Faddis' "Teranga" was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra at Kimmel Center in 2006. His arrangement of Paquito D'Rivera's "I Remember Diz" was performed by the Louisiana Philharmonic in 2010.
Personal life
Mossman is currently married to professional Flamenco and ballroom dancer/choreographer Mayte Vicens (EnchantedEnchanted
Enchanted may refer to:* Under the influence of an incantation* Enchanted , a 2007 Disney film** Enchanted , the soundtrack album from the film** Enchanted , a Nintendo DS game based on the film...
2007 Disney, Stepford Wives 2004 Paramount, Mona Lisa Smile
Mona Lisa Smile
Mona Lisa Smile is a 2003 romantic drama film produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures in association with Red Om Films Productions, directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Julia Stiles...
2003 Columbia Tristar) and has two daughters, Anayvelyse and Maria. He also has two sisters named Leslie (Giuliani) and Janet (Locke). Mossman is Director of Jazz Studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College/CUNY.
As a leader
- Granulate (with Daniel Schnyder) (Red RecordsRed RecordsRed Records is an Italian jazz record label established in 1976.Artists who have recorded for the label include Joe Henderson, Bobby Watson, Billy Higgins, Roberto Gatto, Franco d'Andrea, Dave Liebman, Cedar Walton, Edward Simon, Stafford James, Ray Mantilla, Jim Snidero, Black Note, Julius...
, 1990) - Spring Dance (Claves Records, 1995)
- Mama Soho (TCB Records, 1998)
- The Orisha Suite (Pimienta Records, 2003)
- Misa Afro Cubana (Pa'Ti Pa'Mi, 2008)
As a Co-leader
- "Out of the Blue" (with (OTBOTBOTB may mean:*Off the boat, a slang phrase for newly arrived immigrants*Off-track betting, sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track*Overberg Test Range, or Overberg Toetsbaan, a missile test range in South Africa...
) (Blue NoteBlue noteIn jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
), 1985 - "Inside Track" (with (OTBOTBOTB may mean:*Off the boat, a slang phrase for newly arrived immigrants*Off-track betting, sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track*Overberg Test Range, or Overberg Toetsbaan, a missile test range in South Africa...
) (Blue NoteBlue noteIn jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
), 1986 - "Live at Mt. Fuji" (with (OTBOTBOTB may mean:*Off the boat, a slang phrase for newly arrived immigrants*Off-track betting, sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track*Overberg Test Range, or Overberg Toetsbaan, a missile test range in South Africa...
) (Blue NoteBlue noteIn jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
), 1987 - "Spiral Staircase" (with (OTBOTBOTB may mean:*Off the boat, a slang phrase for newly arrived immigrants*Off-track betting, sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track*Overberg Test Range, or Overberg Toetsbaan, a missile test range in South Africa...
) (Blue NoteBlue noteIn jazz and blues, a blue note is a note sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is a semitone or less, but this varies among performers and genres. Country blues, in particular, features wide variations from the...
), 1989
As a sideman
With Earl MacDonaldEarl MacDonald
Earl MacDonald , is a music arranger, composer, jazz pianist and music educator. Director of jazz studies at the University of Connecticut, the Winnipeg native earned a bachelor of music degree in jazz performance at McGill University and a master of music degree at Rutgers, where he apprenticed...
- Re:Visions - Works for Jazz Orchestra (2010) Death Defying Records
With Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
- Song for Chico 2008 Zoho Music (Grammy Winner)
With Jazz at Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
- Una Noche Inolvidable 2005 Palmetto
With Jimmy Heath
Jimmy Heath
James Edward Heath , nicknamed Little Bird, is an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger. He is the brother of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Albert Heath.-Biography:...
- Turn Up The Heath 2006 Planet Arts
With Horace Silver
Horace Silver
Horace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
- Rockin with Rachmaninoff 2003 Bop City
With Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson
Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
- Joe Henderson Big Band (1997) Verve (Grammy Winner)
With Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer is a jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader based in Los Angeles, California. Mintzer is a member of the jazz rock band the Yellowjackets.-With The Yellowjackets:*Greenhouse, 1991;*Live Wires, 1992;...
- Gently 2003 DMP
- Homage to Count Basie 2000 DMP
- Latin From Manhattan 1998 DMP
- Big Band Trane 1996 DMP
- Departure 1993 DMP
With Joe Zawinul
Joe Zawinul
Josef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian-American jazz keyboardist and composer.First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with trumpeter Miles Davis, and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, an innovative musical genre that combined jazz with...
- My People 1996 Escapade
With Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
- Special Delivery 1996 Concord
With Chico O'Farrill
Chico O'Farrill
Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill was a composer-arranger best known for his work in the Latin idiom, although he also composed straight-ahead jazz pieces and even symphonic works....
- Carambola 2000 Fantasy-Milestone
- Pure Emotion 1995 Milestone
With Mario Bauza
Mario Bauza
Mario Bauzá was an important Cuban musician. He was one of the first to introduce Latin music to the United States by bringing Cuban musical styles into the New York jazz scene...
- 944 Columbus 1994 Messidor
- My Time Is Now 1993 Messidor
With Ray Barretto
Ray Barretto
Ray Barretto was a Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican jazz musician.-Early years:Barretto was born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent...
- Contact 1997 Blue Note
- My Summertime 1995 Owl/Blue Note
With Michel Camilo
Michel Camilo
Michel Camilo is a pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work...
- One More Once 1994 Columbia
- On the Other Hand 1990 Sony
With Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
- Secret StorySecret Story (album)Secret Story is an album by Pat Metheny released in 1992. The music is all composed by Metheny and it is one of his most ambitious and successful studio ventures, integrating elements of rock, jazz, neo-folk and "world music"...
(1992) Geffen
With Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
- Destiny (1986) Warner Bros.
With Styx
Styx (band)
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
- Kilroy Was Here (1983) A&M
With Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell is an African American composer, jazz instrumentalist and educator, mostly known for being "a technically superb—if idiosyncratic—saxophonist." He has been called "one of the key figures" in avant-garde jazz who has been "at the forefront of modern music" for the past...
- Roscoe Mitchell and the Sound and Space EnsemblesRoscoe Mitchell and the Sound and Space EnsemblesRoscoe Mitchell and the Sound and Space Ensembles is an album by jazz saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell recorded in 1983 for the Italian Black Saint label.-Reception:...
(Black Saint, 1983)
Film Credits
- "Chico and Rita" (2011) directed by Fernando TruebaFernando TruebaFernando Trueba is a Spanish book editor, screenwriter, film director and producer.Between 1974 and 1979 worked as a film critic for Spain's leading daily newspaper EL PAIS. In 1980, founded the monthly film magazine CASABLANCA, which he edited and directed during its first two years...
as composer-arranger and trumpet soloist
- "Calle 54" (2000) directed by Fernando TruebaFernando TruebaFernando Trueba is a Spanish book editor, screenwriter, film director and producer.Between 1974 and 1979 worked as a film critic for Spain's leading daily newspaper EL PAIS. In 1980, founded the monthly film magazine CASABLANCA, which he edited and directed during its first two years...
on screen as lead trumpet and interview about Mario BauzaMario BauzaMario Bauzá was an important Cuban musician. He was one of the first to introduce Latin music to the United States by bringing Cuban musical styles into the New York jazz scene...
- "Two Much" (1995) directed by Fernando TruebaFernando TruebaFernando Trueba is a Spanish book editor, screenwriter, film director and producer.Between 1974 and 1979 worked as a film critic for Spain's leading daily newspaper EL PAIS. In 1980, founded the monthly film magazine CASABLANCA, which he edited and directed during its first two years...
on screen as trumpet soloist
- "Bossa Nova" (2000) directed by Bruno Baretto as arranger and trumpet soloist
- "Wise Guys" (1996) directed by Brian de PalmaBrian De PalmaBrian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
as trumpeter
- "Me Amo Tu Cama Rica" (1992) directed by Emilio Martinez LazaroEmilio Martínez LázaroEmilio Martínez Lázaro is a Spanish film director famous for such films as The Other Side of the Bed and His Master's Voice....
as trumpeter