Russ Lossing
Pianist · Composer · Improviser
Lossing draws on his labyrinthine history and experience with jazz and contemporary classical music to create a completely unique and singularly original language — one that draws from both traditions yet seems to emerge from an endlessly deep well of imagination. His sound has established him as one of the most important and influential voices in 21st-century avant-garde jazz, both as a performer and a composer.
For over three decades, Lossing has captivated audiences across the globe — from a 12-year collaboration with drummer Paul Motian at the Village Vanguard, to stages spanning the Blue Note NYC, Birdland, Vienna's Porgy & Bess, and Amsterdam's Bimhuis. With over 400 original compositions and 26 albums as a leader, he has earned recognition as, in the words of All About Jazz, "an iconoclast in the best sense of the word, a true innovator."
"...an iconoclast in the best sense of the word, a true innovator."
— All About Jazz
"Lossing is, plain and simple, a monster."
— JAZZIZ Magazine
"Lossing shines as brightly as any of the jazz pioneers who preceded him in mapping out their own musical journeys."
— DownBeat Magazine
"I like the way Russ Lossing plays my music."
— Paul Motian
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"...an intrepid searcher with an end point in mind."
— The New York Times
"Among today's modern jazz pianists, Russ Lossing stands out as one of the artists who intelligently travels between jazz and contemporary music."
— France Musique
"...The pianist illuminates the silence, suspends the time, and intensifies the collective flux. The wealth of his harmonic knowledge, the fluidity of his phrasing and his attention to the weight of every single note creates a sound palette for endless pleasures."
— Jazzman Magazine (FR)
"...a gripping improviser, pulling ideas out of the air and nudging them into the action at hand as if they always belonged there."
— The Village Voice
"I recall nights at the Vanguard with Paul Motian when Lossing brought the music to another level, displaying a formidable command of the tradition and a bristling originality."
— David Adler, JazzTimes
"Stylistically, Lossing is, simply, a 'space man'—like Thelonious Monk and Paul Bley, letting the spaces between notes do the talking."
— ICON Magazine