Roxy Coss explores the many facets of life with new album Disparate Parts
Throughout the writing process, Coss was inspired by experiences of loss, resilience and renewal in her life and in the lives of those around her. She also frequently thought about daily rituals of compartmentalizing and wanted to explore how she and her fellow artists could communicate those ideas through music. Disparate Parts represents a new phase in Coss’s life and her creative expression, and throughout the album her quintet explores new, multilayered concepts.
“I’m still feeling this idea of having disparate parts of myself represented in different areas of my life, but it is even more prevalent now that I’m a new mom,” she says. “I’m exploring and expressing this idea through my music — especially in this particular moment.”
Winner of the Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award in 2016, Coss was named as a “rising star” in the Downbeat Critics’ Poll for seven years in a row. She has performed at festivals and venues around the world, and her quintet has held residencies at New York clubs including Smoke and Bonafide.
Coss has also been a side musician for jazz greats including Clark Terry, Louis Hayes, Rufus Reid, Billy Kaye and Claudio Roditi. Additionally, she has performed with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Buster Williams, Joshua Redman, Joe Lovano, Mulgrew Miller, Harold Mabern and many more.
As an activist and educator, Coss is the founder and president of Women In Jazz Organization (WIJO), serves on the board of directors for the Jazz Education Network, and is part of the jazz faculty at the Juilliard School.
Disparate Parts is Coss’s sixth album as a leader.
Here’s the full track listing:
- February (Take 3)
- Part I The Body
- Part II The Mind
- Part III The Heart
- Part IV The Spirit
- February (Take 5)
- Disparate Parts
- Ely, MN
- February (Take 1)
- Mabes
- Sunburn
- February (Take 4)
- Warm One
- February (Take 2)
The Roxy Coss Quintet’s Disparate Parts will be released March 25, 2022, via Outside In.
