Brandon Ross

Brandon Ross is a guitarist, composer, singer and songwriter associated with jazz, experimental music and avant-garde guitar playing. He works with a personal approach to improvisation and has performed internationally. Ross plays electric, acoustic and soprano guitars, as well as banjo, and also uses cornet, acoustic bass guitar and drumset in some of his work.

Collaborations and ensembles

Ross has worked and recorded with a wide range of artists, including Cassandra Wilson, Henry Threadgill, Jewel, Tony Williams, Arto Lindsay, The Lounge Lizards, Leroy Jenkins, Butch Morris, Bill Frisell, Me'Shell N'degeocello, Moreno Veloso, Arrested Development, Craig Harris, Archie Shepp, Fred Hopkins, Joan Osborne, Muhal Richard Abrams, Deidre Murray, Mino Cinelu, Don Byron, Graham Haynes, Lizz Wright, Timothy Hill, Myra Melford, Ron Miles, Oliver Lake, Sekou Sundiata, Bill Laswell, Zeena Parkins, Michelle Branch and Wadada Leo Smith.

He co-leads Harriet Tubman with bassist Melvin Gibbs and drummer JT Lewis. The group works in a classic guitar, bass and drums format, while using electronics and pan-tonality in a pan-African musical framework. Harriet Tubman releases the albums I Am A Man on Knitting Factory Records and Prototype, a live recording on John Zorn’s Avant Records. The project also includes a double-trio live recording, Ascension, featuring Ron Miles, DJ Singe and DJ Logic, released on the German label Karlrecords.

Acoustic projects and solo-related work

Ross leads the acoustic-based quartet Blazing Beauty, in which he expands the sound with multiple guitars, banjo, cornet, acoustic bass guitar and drumset. The group releases Costume in 2004 and Puppet in 2006, both on Intoxicate Records in Japan.

He also writes for For Living Lovers, his acoustic string duo with bassist Stomu Takeishi.

Film, arrangements and other work

Ross scores and performs live music for Lotus Blossom, a surviving reel of a 1922 Chinese silent film, in connection with the New York Guitar Festival. For the same festival, he also arranges and performs interpretations of music by Reverend Gary Davis and Mississippi John Hurt. He records Quotation Of Dream: For The Love and Soul of Toru Takemitsu with classical guitarist Daisuke Suzuki and bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi, interpreting film music by Toru Takemitsu.

Associated releases and projects

Ross works on a live Harriet Tubman collaboration with Me'Shell N'degeocello and guest musicians, titled Om Supreme: The Music and Inspiration of Alice Coltrane. He also plans a follow-up release to Puppet through Intoxicate Records.