Danny Ross

BIO!

Following in the great Beatles tradition of melody, craft and ambition,  Danny Ross combines deeply-felt lyrics, a slight country bend and a larger-than-life stage presence to create a pop music entirely his own.

Brooklyn-groomed and Long Island-bred, Ross, 26, grew up inspired by the rock and soul music of the 1960s. Self-taught on piano, guitar and harmonica, he went on to create his own major, “Popular Music Composition and Performance,” at Cornell University, where he worked with professors in music and poetry to write the first incarnation of the album, One Way. Performing the work live with a seventeen piece band and orchestra for his college thesis, Ross earned Summa Cum Laude honors. And after a stint at London’s Goldsmiths College studying Jazz Piano, the EP Introducing Danny Ross! followed in the summer of 2007.

One Way, the debut LP four years in the making, was finally realized and self-released in the Fall of 2009. Inspired by the great conceptual albums of rock history, Ross shares his personal account of young adulthood in America through an ambitious thirteen-track journey of highly textured pop songs. Ranging from the slow-building twang and soul-inspired horns of “Country Wind” to the title track’s orchestral ‘Wall of Sound’ production, Ross touches upon nearly all the cornerstones of popular music from the last half-century to tell his story. Composed, arranged and co-produced by the artist using only real instruments, One Way marked its release with a complete performance by his seventeen-piece band and orchestra at New York’s historic St. Mark’s Church. The album is available now with Radiohead-informed “Pay What You Want” pricing.

With growing press coverage and critical praise, Ross and his large band have been winning audiences over the last three years with their explosive live show at New York venues like Mercury Lounge, The Living Room and Rockwood Music Hall. The group is currently expanding into regional markets, including their first appearance at the 2010 SXSW Music Festival, as Ross continues to release music videos and maintain an interactive website and blog. He’s also furthering his studies with Grammy-nominated composer, Ed Green.  

But from nine to five, Ross lives a very different life as a staffer for US Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and he credits his day-job for providing him with the organization needed to be a successful DIY artist. With all that he’s accomplished so far in his young career as a singer, songwriter and rising presence in the New York City music scene, Danny Ross is riding one way to the top.

QUOTES!

● “Danny Ross is a classicist to the core…Gorgeous…Immaculately arranged …with enough guitar shredding to make you double-check you're still listening to the same album …. Like Ryan Adams, Ross realizes that there's no point in recreating the past note-for-note when it's more fun to smash pieces of it together in a collage… I hope this album becomes a breakaway hit.”  - CMJ

● "New York City’s own piano-pounding rocker… Danny Ross has a couple of aces up his sleeve." –The New Yorker

● “It’s one thing to say you sound different than everyone else. It’s another thing entirely to do it without trying… You can try to lump Ross in with the likes of Ben Folds or Sufjan Stevens. Ross’ falsetto and unique melodies may also remind you of the late Jeff Buckley, but that’s just a point of reference because dude is clearly doing his own thing…You’re going to love Ross’ music.” – Bullzeye.com

● “Think Danny Ross, and you think Brooklyn… A virtuoso artist, part sentimental pianist, part rock n’roller... One Way is a tour de force.” –Racket Magazine

● Danny was also featured in New York Post Page Six, Daily News, Newsday, Yahoo! & Brooklyn Vegan.  Find out more at myspace.com/dannyrossmusic or dannyrossmusic.com