THE ‘PROFESSOR OF SOUL’ 
RJ ROSS RETURNS TO SOUTHERN 
CALIFORNIA FOR A ‘FACE TO FACE’ 
PERFORMANCE AT SPAGHETTINI GRILL & LOUNGE 
ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25 IN CONJUNCTION 
WITH KSBR 88.5 FM

Professor RJ Ross is treating fans to a special performance on Wednesday, August 25 at the acclaimed SoCal venue, Spaghettini Grill & Lounge (3005 Old Ranch Pkwy., Seal Beach, CA 90740).

The show begins at 7 p.m. and is in conjunction with KSBR 88.5 FM in Orange County which has been playing Ross’s title track in regular rotation. Ross will be performing tracks from his soothing soul-jazz CD Face To Face. Reservations are $10 per person and include a free copy of the new limited edition remix single of the title track featuringErnie Watts.  All advance reservations will include a free CD of the album Face To Face. Call Spaghettini directly at (562) 596-2199 or visit www.spaghettini.com.

LA Jazz Music Examiner Oscar Brooks recently praised Ross’ work in his review of Face To Face: “The album has the sound of soul, blues and a little bit of funk to it.  Honestly, all 14 tracks on the CD are good. Ross uses his deep and sensuous voice to give these songs a different flavor that is a joy to listen to.” Click here to read the entire review.

“Face To Face” also recently debuted on the Smooth Indie Chart and is chartbound on the JazzWeek Album and Single Charts. The Professor’s unique take on America’s“Ventura Highway” is also popping at smooth jazz stations and the timeless Johnny Mercer tune “Autumn Leaves” is gaining airplay on traditional jazz outlets.

Produced by Jerry Stucker (Chuck Prophet), Face To Face features eight originals and six artfully arranged classic cover songs recorded at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood. The album was engineered by Grammy-winner Al Schmitt (George Benson, Steely Dan, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, et al) and mixed by Grammy-winner Ed Cherney (Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald) at TheVillage in L.A. 

EVENT RECAP:

Wednesday, August 25
Spaghettini Grill & Jazz Club 
3005 Old Ranch Parkway Seal Beach, CA 90740
(562) 596-2199
www.spaghettini.com
7 p.m.
All Ages welcome
** Reserved seating is $10 per person, or first come first serve. Please call the club directly at (562) 596-2199 to reserve a table prior to the show.

Emerging jazz artist PROFESSOR RJ Ross with the legendary Sally Kellerman at the Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc. on Wednesday, June 23 in Bel Air, Calif.

THE ‘PROFESSOR OF SOUL’ RJ ROSS
WRAPS A BUSY WEEK IN LOS ANGELES WITH
BACK-TO-BACK LIVE RADIO INTERVIEWS
TOPPED WITH AN ENGAGING PERFORMANCE
AT VIBRATO GRILL JAZZ…ETC. INCLUDING A
GUEST APPEARANCE BY SALLY KELLERMAN

* * *

The Multi-talented Soul-Jazz Artist Returns to SoCal
For A ‘Face To Face’ Performance at Spaghettini
On Wednesday, August 25 In Conjunction With KSBR 88.5 FM

Making waves with his soothing soul-jazz CD Face To Face, Professor RJ Ross traveled to L.A. recently for an action-packed week, starting with an interview with Kelly McGrath at the L.A. Talk Radio in Studio City on June 21. Ross then joined Larry Fox at the KSPC 88.7 FM studio in Claremont for a live interview the following day.

‘The Professor’ treated jazz fans with a showcase of songs from Face to Face at the notable Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc. in Bel Air, Calif. During his two sets, a special guest appearance was made by actress-turned-singer Sally Kellerman. The two performed a few duets including Aerosmith’s hit “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing.”

Those who missed Ross’ last stint in SoCal can catch him on Wednesday, August 25 at the acclaimed venue, Spaghettini Italian Grill & Lounge (3005 Old Ranch Pkwy., Seal Beach, CA 90740). The show starts at 7 p.m. and is in conjunction with KSBR 88.5 FM in Orange County, which has been playing Ross’s title track “Face To Face” in regular rotation. Reservations are $10 per person and are highly recommended. Call Spaghettini directly at (562) 596-2199 or visit www.spaghettini.com.

LA Jazz Music Examiner Oscar Brooks recently praised Ross’ work in his review of Face To Face: “The album has the sound of soul, blues and a little bit of funk to it.  Honestly, all 14 tracks on the CD are good. Ross uses his deep and sensuous voice to give these songs a different flavor that is a joy to listen to.” Click here to read the entire review.

“Face To Face” also recently debuted on the Smooth Indie Chart and is chartbound on the JazzWeek Album and Single Charts. The Professor’s unique take on America’s “Ventura Highway” is also popping at smooth jazz stations and the timeless Johnny Mercer tune “Autumn Leaves” is gaining airplay on traditional jazz outlets.

Produced by Jerry Stucker (Chuck Prophet), Face To Face features eight originals and six artfully arranged classic cover songs recorded at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood. The album was engineered by Grammy-winner Al Schmitt (George Benson, Steely Dan, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, et al) and mixed by Grammy-winner Ed Cherney (Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald) at The Village in L.A. 

Artist Kelly McGrath pictured with jazz musician Professor RJ Ross during L.A. Talk Radio on Sunday, June 20.

BAY AREA BASED SOUL-JAZZ ARTIST
PROFESSOR RJ ROSS
MAKES A GUEST APPEARNACE
WITH SALLY KELLERMAN
AT THE RRAZZ ROOM IN SAN FRANCISCO
FOR TWO NIGHTS OF FEEL-GOOD PERFORMANCES 
ON FRIDAY, JUNE 4 AND SATURDAY, JUNE 5 AT 10 P.M.

* * *

 Professor RJ Ross Heads to Los Angeles’
Vibrato Grill & Jazz for a Night of Soul-inspired Jazz
Performances on Wednesday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
 

The soulful Professor RJ Rossis set for two back-to-back performances on Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5 as a special guest artist for the sensational actress/singer Sally Kellerman at The Rrazz Room in San Francisco where they will duet “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing” and other tracks from Kellerman’s latest album Sally. Shows begin at 10 p.m. both nights; tickets are $35 and can be purchased by calling (415) 394-1189 or online at www.therrazzroom.com. 

‘The Professor’ then travels to L.A. on Wednesday, June 23 to showcase songs from his debut Face to Face< at the notable Vibrato Grill & Jazz in Bel Air. Sally Kellerman will return the favor as guest artist during RJ’s two headlining performances; the first set will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a second show at 8 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling Vibrato at (310) 474-9400 or online at www.vibratogrilljazz.com.

Ross’ title track Face To Face is in full rotation at KSBR 88.5 FM in Orange County, Calif. and recently debuted on the Smooth Indie Chart and the JazzWeek Album Chart. The Professor’s unique take on America’s “Ventura Highway” is also popping at smooth jazz station and the timeless Johnny Mercer tune “Autumn Leaves” is gaining airplay on traditional jazz outlets.

Face To Face was produced by Jerry Stucker (Chuck Prophet) and features eight originals and six artfully arranged classic cover songs. Recorded at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood, the album was engineered by Grammy-winner Al Schmitt (George Benson, Steely Dan, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, et al) and mixed by Grammy-winner Ed Cherney (Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald) at The Village in Los Angeles.

Complementing Ross’ deep, sensuous vocals, piano and keyboards on Face to Face are drummers James Gadson (Donald Fagen, Marvin Gaye) and Steve Gadd (Michael McDonald, George Benson); bassist Freddie Washington (Simon & Garfunkel, Michael Jackson); B3 organist Neil Larsen (Aaron Neville, Al Jarreau); tenor and soprano sax player Ernie Watts (Steely Dan, Dr. John).

EVENT RECAP 

 Friday, June 4 & Saturday, June 5

Sally Kellerman featuring Professor RJ Ross

The Rrazz Room at Nikko Hotel

222 Mason St.

San Francisco, CA 94102

Time: 10 p.m.

Tickets: $35

(415) 394-1189

www.therrazzroom.com

**Media should also RSVP to chrissy@luckmedia.com no later than noon on Friday, June 4

Wednesday, June 23

Professor RJ Ross

Vibrato Grill & Jazz

2930 Beverly Glen

Bel Air, CA 90077

Performance times: 6:30 p.m. & 8 p.m.

(310) 474-9400

www.vibratogrilljazz.com.

** Media should also RSVP to chrissy@luckmedia.com no later than noon on Tuesday, June 22.

Professor RJ Ross will serve up his smooth, soulful jazz music from his album Face To Face at the renowned venue, Vibrato Grill & Jazz in Bel Air, CA on Wednesday, June 23.

 The first set will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a second performance at 8 p.m.  Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling Vibrato at (310) 474-9400 or online at www.vibratogrilljazz.com.

 Before emerging as a solo artist, Professor RJ Ross was a singer and keyboardist with various funk groups in his native Detroit, where his seriousness about music and expertise at running rehearsals earned him the nickname “Professor.” With a lifetime of soul-jazz, funky music and hard-hitting stories comes his solo debut CD Face to Face.

 Ross’ title track, “Face To Face” is in full rotation at KSBR 88.5 FM in Orange County, Calif. and recently debuted on the Smooth Indie Chart and  the JazzWeek Album Chart. The Professor’s unique take on America’s “Ventura Highway” is also popping at smooth jazz station and the timeless Johnny Mercer tune “Autumn Leaves” is gaining airplay on traditional jazz outlets.

 EVENT RECAP:

 Wednesday, June 23
Professor RJ Ross
Vibrato Grill & Jazz
2930 Beverly Glen
Bel Air, CA 90077
Performance times: 6:30 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Please make reservations by calling (310) 474-9400 or visit www.vibratogrilljazz.com.
** Media should also RSVP to chrissy@luckmedia.com no later than noon on Tuesday, June 22.

Class Is Now In Session!

Meet Professor RJ Ross
And The University Of Soul

 Motor City Bred, Bay Area Based
Soul-Jazz Singer/Songwriter
Brings A Fascinating Lifetime Of
Musical Experiences—And Great Triumphs
Over Adversity—To His Easy Grooving
Debut Album ‘Face To Face’

 ‘The Best Kept Secret In The Music Business” Was
Co-Founder of The Detroit Funk Band Brainstorm And
Worked As In-House Keyboardist, MIDI Expert and Arranger
 At Fantasy Records For Everyone From Jeffrey Osborne And
Eddie Money To Huey Lewis, MC Hammer And 2Pac

Back in the day, when RJ Ross was a singer and keyboardist with various funk groups in his native Detroit, his seriousness about music and expertise at running rehearsals earned him the nickname “Professor.” Truth is, the stylish multi-talented performer doesn’t have a formal classroom or boast any fancy degrees on the wall. But when it comes to creating brilliantly cool contemporary soul-jazz, Professor RJ Ross and The University of Soul are showing the youngsters how it’s done.

Emerging as a solo artist after several busy decades behind the scenes, the soulful musical innovator—who’s been working professionally since age 11—brings a lifetime of funky music, hard knocks and hard hitting stories about triumphs over adversity to his easy grooving debut album Face to Face.

A lot of that funk came in his 20s when he was a founding member and frontman of the red-hot Motor City band Brainstorm, which played huge venues in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s and broke through to national attention with the dance hit “Lovin’ Is Really My Game.” The cult hit, a major smash in the gay and disco communities at the time which was later recorded by Sylvester, was featured last year on the Fox hit “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Produced by Jerry Stucker (Chuck Prophet), Ross’ infectious new collection featuring eight originals and six artfully arranged classic cover songs was recorded at the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood with a guy who knows a little something about how to make a Grammy winning jazz recording: legendary engineer Al Schmitt, who has worked with George Benson, Steely Dan, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, et al). Grammy winner Ed Cherney (Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald) mixed the album at The Village in Los Angeles.

One of the top MIDI experts in the Bay Area, Ross’ background includes a lengthy stint at the world famous Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, where he brought his MIDI magic, keyboard and arranging skills to projects by everyone from Jeffrey Osborne and Eddie Money to Huey Lewis, MC Hammer and 2Pac. So now that class is in session, it’s no surprise that he’s brought a host of top visiting “lecturers” in as the University of Soul’s faculty. Complementing Ross’ deep, sensuous vocals, piano and keyboards on Face to Face  are drummers James Gadson (Donald Fagen, Marvin Gaye) and Steve Gadd (Michael McDonald, George Benson); bassist Freddie Washington (Simon & Garfunkel, Michael Jackson); B3 organist Neil Larsen (Aaron Neville, Al Jarreau); tenor and soprano sax player Ernie Watts (Steely Dan, Dr. John). 

The recording’s other musical contributors have worked with everyone from Grover Washington, Jr., J-Lo and Santana to Elton John, Herbie Hancock, Tower of Power and Talking Heads.

While Ross’ compelling and highly personal self-penned songs are the emotional core of Face To Face, his unique take on America’s “Ventura Highway” is already popping at smooth jazz stations and the timeless Johnny Mercer chestnut “Autumn Leaves” is being spun on traditional jazz outlets.

“I love the mix on the album,” the singer says, “because when you’re introducing a new style and artist, a full slate of originals is a lot for new listeners to take in all at once. If you give them your unique spin on a song they know and like, they can relax and ease into the experience. I’m a white guy with a black singing style and I thought it would be fun to bring the soul to ‘Ventura Highway.’ It’s a time honored thing to do cover songs and I think the mix is good, with ‘Drive My Car’, ‘Summertime’ and ‘Do It Again’ showing the range of my influences.”

In composing his original material, Ross was inspired by a very trying time in his life. Nine years ago, just after deciding to move out of the shadows and begin pursuing a solo career, Ross was diagnosed with a rare form of stage IV cancer and was thrust into what he calls “a roller coaster ride of heartbreaking joy and darkest despair.” Told his cancer was incurable and to “get his affairs in order,” Ross, who was running his own 24 track studio by that time, refused to accept that fate and set out on a quest to prove the doctors wrong.

His subsequent courageous battle defied all odds, with redemption coming in the form of extremely risky and invasive surgeries—which eventually led to a successful outcome and a new lease on life. During that time, the vast changes in his life included closing his studio and buying a wonderful house surrounded by trees and bay vistas in the Berkeley Hills—while literally traveling the world seeking a cure.

 “If you look at the lyrical content of my original songs,” he says, “a lot of it is about finding myself, emerging through the fire and ultimately delivering an upbeat message about the sheer joy of being alive. The title song ‘Face To Face’ is about simply having the courage to face the reality of who you are, while ‘Like A Circle’ is a song about rebirth, of going through the darkness and coming out the other end. Many of the songs I write all have that theme of passing on a journey through immensely trying times while acknowledging the goodness of life.

“As hard as I know life can be, this stuff I went through is what makes me the artist I am today,” Ross adds. “When I was very young, I had a lot going for me, things came easily to me, and I was a popular kid. So going through all these things helped me develop compassion towards what it’s like to be, as one of my song titles says, ‘The Outsider.’ The Persian poet Rumi says ‘the heart has to break for the heart to open,’ and I am pleased to say I have come back into the light with a great attitude and a much richer palette to draw from creatively than I would have otherwise. Fortunately, my producer, Jerry Stucker really saw who I was as an artist. He saw my potential and always believed in me.       

For everyone involved in this project, Face To Face is really the start of a long overdue musical blossoming, with the truly inimitable, instantly identifiable Professor RJ Ross starting the process with a vast musical repertoire that incorporates a lifetime of diverse musical influences. Despite the big names involved, the great creative freedom involved in creating the album makes it something of an ultimate Indie recording. Ross is currently focused on creating more video content of his live performances for YouTube and other online outlets.

“The most enjoyable part of the whole Face To Face experience,” he says, “was writing the songs, then being part of the process of bringing them to life with vocalists Sandy Griffith and Jeannie Tracy and brilliant musicians like Neil Larsen and Ernie Watts. These guys really play ball! I think the song that perfectly captures my feeling about life these days is ‘Only Dreamers,’ which is about the power of love and dreams. The modern world tells us to be serious and practical but to me, the ability to dream and love is what is most important. I feel like I have been given an incredible gift…the opportunity to share my music with the world. It’s truly an unexpected but much welcome twist in what has been a remarkable life.”