I grew up in Denver, Colorado, and got involved in music through a twist of fate. When I was about 10, my parents bought an old house that was filled with furniture. They sold all the furniture to a used furniture guy. He bought everything in the house but an old upright piano. It was to heavy for him to move it. Anyway, I ended up taking lessons, and actually liked it. I liked it so much, I decided to go to the Berklee 'School' of Music. (This was before they became accredited) I went there for a couple years, and ended up moving back to Denver. There I played all the clubs. These were the day's of "Top 40", so there were all kinds of dance bands and you'd go from club to club with your band. Eventually I got the gig backing up a wonderful singer, Yvette Stewart. That was a nice little trio + singer gig. I also had a trio that played opening act at a club in Boulder for the likes of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Weather Report, and Keith Jarrett.
When that band broke up, I moved to Phoenix, and did the mainstay casuals of a resort town. Lots of good players, and plenty of funny memories. While there, I got to play with an unknown 'kid' named Lewis Nash. We played a couple times, and then he split for New York. The rest as they say, is history. I also did a gig with local guitarist Jerry Byrd, backing up Eddie Harris. That was fun.
In about '86 or '87 I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, settleing in Oakland. Shortly after arriving here, I got the gig as Musicial Director of the Hyatt Regency, San Francisco. I was there about seven years, with a trio during the week, and a quintet on the weekends. During this period, Ialso put together bands for Susan Anton for a show at the Grand Hyatt on Union Square in S.F. I also put a band together for Roslyn Kind's show at the Venetian Room of the Fairmont Hotel. In the late 80's through the early 90's I put together "big bands" for New Year's Eve shows at The Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe.
In 1998, my life changed dramatically. I had a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. Now that set me back some, but only for awhile. I ruptured on October 4, and played a four hour solo gig on Halloween. 27 days after the aneurysm. At this point, I decided I needed to record some things. I called upon my dear friend (she cared for me during my recovery) Melody Anne for wonderful vocals, lyric writing, and helping me start this business. All the music you hear comes from our hearts. That's what we pledged to do together.
I still play locally at restaurants, and that pays the bills. I write alot of material like this. It's time for a transition though. That's the beauty of the music. It's always in transition. I hope you enjoy what you hear.
Tim Ross.
Tim Ross
Tim Ross
