Professor RJ Ross
Encyclopedia
Professor RJ Ross is a smooth jazz
and classic R&B singer and pianist
. His debut solo album Face To Face was released by Music Force Media Group in 2008.
band Brainstorm. The band's album Stormin was released by famed music executive Clarence Avant
's Tabu Records.
Ross then moved to Oakland, California
where he spent several years as the in-house arranger, producer, keyboardist and midi-expert at Fantasy Studios
. At Fantasy, he played on numerous records, including those by Eddie Money
, Jeffrey Osborne
, Huey Lewis
, MC Hammer
and Tupac Shakur
.
in Hollywood. Ross put together an all-star cast of musicians to play on the album including drummers James Gadson
and Steve Gadd
, bassist Freddie Washington
, Hammond B3
organist Neil Larsen, tenor and soprano sax
player Ernie Watts
, and vocalists Sandy Griffith and Jeannie Tracy. Grammy-award winner Ed Cherney mixed the album at The Village
in Los Angeles
.
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
and classic R&B singer and pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. His debut solo album Face To Face was released by Music Force Media Group in 2008.
Early career
Ross's career began as a founding member of Detroit funkFunk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
band Brainstorm. The band's album Stormin was released by famed music executive Clarence Avant
Clarence Avant
Clarence Avant is an American music executive, entrepreneur, and film producer. He was also known as the Godfather of Black Music.Avant's 75th birthday was celebrated by Billboard magazine, on its February 2006 issue....
's Tabu Records.
Ross then moved to Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
where he spent several years as the in-house arranger, producer, keyboardist and midi-expert at Fantasy Studios
Fantasy Studios
Fantasy Studios is a recording studio in Berkeley, California at the Zaentz Media Center, known for its recording of award-winning albums such as Journey's Escape and Green Day's Dookie. Built as a private recording studio for artists on the Fantasy Records label in 1971, it was opened to the...
. At Fantasy, he played on numerous records, including those by Eddie Money
Eddie Money
Eddie Money is an American rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums...
, Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Linton Osborne is an American funk and R&B musician, songwriter, lyricist, and former lead singer of the band, L.T.D.-Early life and career:...
, Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis is an American musician, songwriter and occasional actor.Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs...
, MC Hammer
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
and Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
.
Cancer
In 1999, Ross was diagnosed with a rare form of Stage-IV cancer. According to Ross, the doctor told him that the cancer was inoperable and incurable. He then began a 5-year battle that eventually led to "an extremely risky and invasive" surgery that successfully left him cancer free.Face To Face
After recovering from cancer surgery, Ross began writing the songs that would make up Face To Face. He enlisted the services of producer Jerry Stucker and began recording at Capitol StudiosCapitol Studios
The Capitol Studios complex opened in the Capitol Records Building, a futuristic new building in the heart of Hollywood, in 1956. It has since hosted some of the most treasured recordings in music history, from Frank Sinatra to the Beastie Boys. It is owned by Capitol Records whose parent company...
in Hollywood. Ross put together an all-star cast of musicians to play on the album including drummers James Gadson
James Gadson
James Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B music....
and Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
, bassist Freddie Washington
Freddie Washington
Freddie Washington was an American jazz pianist.Washington moved to California around the year 1918, where he joined Kid Ory's band in 1921. He recorded with Ory's band, and it is for his role in these sessions that he is primarily known. He led his own band in the 1920s and 1930s, in addition to...
, Hammond B3
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
organist Neil Larsen, tenor and soprano sax
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
player Ernie Watts
Ernie Watts
Ernest James "Ernie" Watts is an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician. He plays saxophone and flute. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and his Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist...
, and vocalists Sandy Griffith and Jeannie Tracy. Grammy-award winner Ed Cherney mixed the album at The Village
The Village (studio)
The Village is a famous recording studio in Los Angeles, California.Since the 1960s, The Village has been the home to recordings by artists such as Aerosmith, The Allman Brothers, The Beach Boys, Mariah Carey, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper, Elvis Costello, The Doors, Bob...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Albums
- Professor RJ Ross and the University of Soul (late 2007, self-released)
- Face To Face (October 21, 2008; Music Force Media Group)
- On This Silent Night (November 16, 2010; 2010 Lantana Records)
Guest appearances
- "I Don't Want to Miss a ThingI Don't Want to Miss a Thing"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" is a song performed by American rock band Aerosmith for the 1998 film Armageddon. Written by Diane Warren, the song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 . The song stayed at number one for four weeks from September 5 to September 26, 1998...
" - Sally KellermanSally KellermanSally Clare Kellerman is an American actress and singer known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film MASH , for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.-Early life:...
featuring Professor RJ Ross (Sally, February 10, 2009)