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PRESS / BIO DETAIL

Multi-award winning pianist and composer Renee Rosnes’ already distinguished career continues to reach higher levels marked by new music, exciting collaborations, and ever-evolving musicianship. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, she relocated to New York from Vancouver, Canada in 1985, quickly establishing a reputation of the highest regard, touring and recording with such masters as Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, JJ Johnson, and James Moody. From 1990-2000, she was the pianist for the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, and is a founding member of the all-star ensemble, the SFJAZZ Collective, with whom she toured and recorded for six years.

In 1990, Renee released her debut album on Blue Note Records, which featured a two piano duet with the star pianist Herbie Hancock. She went on to record 10 albums for the legendary label. In 2020, she returned to Blue Note with ARTEMIS, a jazz supergroup including alto saxophonist/flutist Alexa Tarantino, saxophonist Nicole Glover, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, bassist Noriko Ueda, drummer Allison Miller and Rosnes serving as pianist and musical director. NPR Music hailed the band as, “A killer line-up of players, composers and performers who hail from all over the world… they all converge on this extremely cosmopolitan, sleek, rhythm-forward, modern sound.”

Rosnes’ 2016 outing Written in the Rocks (Smoke Sessions) was named one of ten Best Jazz Albums of the Year by The Chicago Tribune, one of the Best Albums in all genres of music by The Nation, and was awarded a Canadian JUNO Award (her 6th). Her 2021 release, Kinds of Love (Smoke Sessions) was entirely composed during the pandemic and features saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Christian McBride,  drummer Carl Allen, and Brazilian percussionist Rogério Boccato. All About Jazz wrote, “Rosnes elicits some of the most emotive and enthralling music of her career.” The recording was awarded a 2023 JUNO for Best Solo Jazz Album of the Year.

The Montréal Jazz Festival presented Renee with the 2018 Oscar Peterson Prize in recognition of her exceptional contributions to Canadian jazz. IN 2018, she became the artistic director of the Oscar Peterson International Jazz Festival, which takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario. She is also an 11-year member of NEA Jazz Master Ron Carter’s Quartet. Renee is married to renowned pianist Bill Charlap. The Charlap/Rosnes duo was featured on four tracks of the 2015 GRAMMY winning album: Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap: The Silver Lining, The Songs of Jerome Kern.

RENEE ROSNES & BILL CHARLAP DUO ONE-SHEET

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Press Quotes

“She clearly has the world at her own fingertips.”
The Village Voice

“The instrument was scarcely large enough to contain her imagination.”
The Globe and Mail

“If you looked closely, you would have sworn you saw steam rising from the piano at the Village Vanguard.”
The New York Sun

“Rosnes and company produce glorious, soulful and deep modern jazz that is firmly rooted in the tradition while showcasing a truly inspired original voice.”
The Times Colonist

“No rhythmic inflection went unexplored, harmonies within a tune kept changing, and the formal elements were simply signposts for the soloists…she’s a virtuoso, but a quiet one.”
New York Times

“Rosnes offers exquisite balances of delicacy and power, witty and weighted ideas, assertiveness and deference.”
Downbeat

“It was one of the more exciting entries any band had made at this festival, and the momentum never sagged for the rest of the concert.”
The Montreal Gazette

“Life On Earth is an important album, not just for Rosnes, but for jazz as a whole. With this recording, she makes a persuasive case for the music’s capacity to interface in meaningful creative fashion with elements of other musical cultures. Life On Earth is a musical mosaic shimmering with dazzling combinations of sound and rhythm on virtually every track.”
Los Angeles Times

“Rosnes is her own woman. An extended solo on the quartet’s opening night was breathtaking, both in concept and execution.”
San Francisco Examiner

“Rosnes combines a muscular forthright style with an awesome ability to navigate complex shoals of far-out freewheeling improvisations: a paradoxical amalgam of passion and precision.”
Winnipeg Sun

“Rosnes has carved out for herself a reputation as one of jazz’s new bright lights. She has impressed veterans of the bebop and free jazz wars with a crisp, uncluttered approach to improvisation that respects, but doesn’t genuflect to, the music of the past. Her exposure to a variety of artists has prodded her to develop a clear voice all her own.”
The Boston Globe

“An absolutely stunning achievement. Rosnes has grown and matured into one of the finest pianists in jazz. Her playing is inventive, complex and always illuminating.”
The Jazz Report