Jamison Jamison Ross

• 1 Deep Down in Florida 05:24
• 2 Martha's Prize (Instrumental) 03:53
• 3 Emotions 03:52
• 4 Sack Full of Dreams 04:13
• 5 Set Us Free (Instrumental) 05:52
• 6 Sweet Surrender (The Hook) [Interlude] 00:40
• 7 My One and Only Love 03:23
• 8 These Things You Are to Me 04:22
• 9 Jazz (Aubrielle Ross) [Interlude] 02:01
• 10 Epiphany 03:39
• 11 Bye Bye Blues, Part I 02:57
• 12 Bye Bye Blues, Pt. II 05:10
• Total Runtime 45:26

Info for Jamison

Three years ago, Jamison Ross won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition as best drummer. The Florida native now released his debut album and not only shows his drum chops, but also his talent as singer, producer, and composer.

With “Deep Down In Florida”, he starts out on a bluesy note with a song that would have been a perfect vehicle for Gregory Porter as well. The very joyful instrumental “Martha’s Prize”, written by the great Cedar Walton (from his 1996 album “Composer”), features Alphonso Horne III on trumpet and Chris Pattishall on piano. Both stick to the very positive and upbeat feel of the original. It is one of the better Walton compositions for sure.

Jamison’s soulful vocals come to the fore on his own “Emotions” which starts out like a “Poinciana”/Ahmad Jamal kind of tune and later turns into a cute Soul/Jazz number with a fine sax solo by Dayve Stewart. Jamison’s vocals at times resemble those of Peabo Bryson. With a little more twist and edge. And he delivers a very sympathetic version of the Gary McFarland tune “Sack Full Of Dreams”.

I think the choice of material is quiet interesting and diverse. The Eddie Harris composition “Set Us Free”, from the Harris/Les McCann 1971 LP “Second Movement”, is a welcome diversion here which also features the guitar of Rick Lollar. Jamison even manages to come up with new twists on the arrangements for the often-heard “My One And Only Love” which has Jonathan Batiste on piano (he also did the arrangement with Jamison) and which gets a new, soulful treatment.

We also get a beautiful interpretation of Carmen Lundy‘s sublime “These Things You Are To Me”. It is a reminder of Carmen’s ability to write timeless songs and the arrangement here with a nice guitar solo shows respect and honesty for the original. There is too much fooling around though on “Jazz” and “Epiphany” which didn’t really catch fire. And to include two parts of the cheesy “Bye Bye Blues” which I never really liked, unfortunately makes me want to forget the last 15 minutes of this otherwise succeeding debut.

Cory Irvin, Hammond B-3 organ (track 12)
Jonathan Batiste, piano (tracks 1, 7, 11, 12)
Chris Pattishall, piano, Fender Rhodes
Jamison Ross, vocals, drums
Corcoran Holt, bass
Rick Lollar, guitar
Dayve Stewart, tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12)
Alphonso Horne III, trumpet (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12)

Jamison Ross
is a vocalist and drummer that delivers messages of humanity through the medium of jazz. His second album, All For One on Concord Jazz is slated to release January 26, 2018.

A native of Jacksonville, FL, Jamison’s passion for music was realized while growing up in his grandfather’s church, where he learned how to present music with honest intent. Jamison began his study of jazz as a high school student at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Jamison gained worldwide acclaim as a featured musician in the Tribeca Film Festival winning documentary CHOPS; a film that followed the school’s jazz ensemble as they prepare and perform in the renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Festival competition.

Ross continued his study of the genre at Florida State University (B.A., Jazz Studies), where he met his current band members and at University of New Orleans (M.M., Jazz), in the city where he currently resides. In 2012, Ross’ career began to take shape after winning the Thelonious Monk Jr. International Jazz Competition for his drumming. This achievement afforded him a recording contract with Concord Jazz. Jamison recounts, “at the time, people knew me as a drummer; they didn’t know I could sing. I wanted to merge my gifts.”

His 2015 debut release, Jamison, introduced the world to his concept of rhythm and melody and also garnered a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. His sophomore release, All For One, takes listeners a level deeper into Jamison’s ethos. The album is a result of a personal revelation that we all have the capacity to love with empathy in a deeper way.”

This album contains no booklet.