“Ross’ playing erupts through the layers of lush arrangements like consistent currents of electricity, high-powered and full of luminous energy” — DownBeat

Joel Ross continues refining an expression that’s true to his sound and his generation. In 2019, the vibraphonist-composer issued his anticipated Blue Note debut, Edison Award-winning record KingMaker to eruptive critical acclaim, followed by his 2020 release Who Are You? which features his band Good Vibes at their most synchronous. New York Times critic Giovanni Russonello praised the album for the ways it “speaks to a new level of group cohesion…more tangle, more sharing, more possibility.”

Joel Ross, Bio:
Vibraphone master and songwriter Joel Ross has adopted an entire ethos dependent on truthful, ongoing communication. A Blue Note artist of critically acclaimed releases KingMaker (2019), Who Are You? (2020) and, most recently, The Parable of the Poet, he regularly tops the DownBeat and Jazz Journalists Association Critics Polls for his work in the broad lineage of Black music that pulls from jazz, hip hop, church and Chicago improvised music. Now based in Brooklyn, the Chicago-born artist performs across the globe, collaborating with Makaya McCraven, Maria Grand, Kassa Overall, Nicole Mitchell, Gerald Clayton, Melissa Aldana, Walter Smith III, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Wynton Marsalis, Rajna Swaminathan, Marcus Gilmore, Brandee Younger and Marquis Hill. As a leader, he has performed at Smalls Jazz Club, The Village Vanguard, The Kennedy Center, Umbria Jazz Festival, Winter Jazz Fest, Newport Jazz Festival, Dizzy’s Club, The Blue Whale, North Sea Jazz Festival and The Brubeck Institute. His recent tour included dates at Triennale di Milano, Teatro dell’Arte and Teatro Ariston in Italy; Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, small hall, LUX Nijmegen, Lantaren Venster, Bimhuis, Rockit Festival and De Oosterpoort in The Netherlands; Ronnie Scott’s in London; Le Duc des Lombards in Paris; and Jazzclub Unterfahrt and Halle 424 in Germany, among other international venues. Ross’ residencies include appearances at Roulette Intermedium for JazzFest Berlin and Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, and as a touring member of the Jazz Gallery All Stars ban.