Ross Mintzer

Ross Mintzer
Mintzer in 2013
Background information
Born (1987-05-26) May 26, 1987
New York, New York
Genres World, pop, edm, rock, jazz
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, flute
Years active 2005–present
Website followross.com

Ross Philip Mintzer (born May 26, 1987)[1] is an American musician and performer.[2] He has led the Ross Mintzer Band since its formation in 2012. Mintzer was featured on National Public Radio show, "From The Top".[3][4] In 2011, he started a girls' choir in Karachi, Pakistan and has been recognized by the National Association for Music Education.[5][6]

Early life

Mintzer was born in 1987 in New York City. He began learning the saxophone at age 8, after being influenced by his uncle, Bob Mintzer, a Grammy Award-winning jazz saxophone player.[7] He also plays tenor saxophone, flute, and guitar, in addition to singing and composing.[8]

Mintzer played in the Jazz Band at Mamaroneck High School and in the band Dr. Meeker in New York before formally studying music during high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan.[7][9] Mintzer continued his studies during college at the Manhattan School of Music.[7][10] In high school, he played tenor sax in jazz combo and jazz band. He has studied privately with New York saxophonist, Marc Mommaas.[11]

In 2005, Mintzer was one of 29 high school students selected for the Gibson/Baldwin Jazz Ensembles for the 47th Annual Grammy Music Awards in Los Angeles.[4] Mintzer performed at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood with award-winning Jazz saxophonist Benny Golson.[12] That same year, he was a featured performer on the National Public Radio program "From the Top" with bassist Michael Thurber.[13] They performed J.S. Bach's Two-Part Inventions No.1 and No. 2.[14] He was also a co-winner in Downbeat Magazine's 28th Annual Student Awards in the Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist and Jazz Instrumental Soloist categories.[11]

Jazziz magazine invited him to perform on its compilation album "Jazziz on Disc," a limited-edition collector's CD issued with the October 2005 edition.[15]

Career

2005–2012: Remington and Music in Pakistan

Mintzer was the guitarist and composer for Remington, a duo with bassist Michael Thurber, which became a trio with the addition of drummer Greg Evans.[10][16] The Band was named after their mentor David Remington.[17] In 2009, Mintzer traveled to teach music. He began touring around the country with fellow Interlochen alumnus Michael Thurber to hold music clinics for young musicians.[18]

Beginning in February 2011, Mintzer taught in the Performing Arts Department of the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. From October 2011 to February 2012, he taught English and music in Karachi, Pakistan to children at The Garage School.[19] He also organized music events for the students and directed a girls' choir.[20][21]

2012–present: Ross Mintzer

In 2012, he formed The Ross Mintzer Band. According to the band website, they have released two singles and one music video, and have performed in Chicago, St. Louis, Boulder, Madison, Los Angeles, and New York City.[22][23][24] In February 2014, Mintzer was interviewed and played his song "Open Happiness" on NHK's program "World Wave Morning."[25] He was conferred an "Honorary Life Membership" to the Tri-M Music Honor Society, a program of the National Association for Music Education, "For inspiring young musicians to achieve and for serving music education." on May 5, 2014[26] Mintzer states that he uses Facebook to reach fans; his band's Facebook page has over one million followers. On July 7, 2015, Mintzer performed, "The Star-Spangled Banner" in Colorado Springs, CO at Security Service Field before a Sky Sox baseball game.[27]

Mintzer released his song, Refugee, as a single in 2015.[28][29] On April 7, 2016, Mintzer released Stronger, a song that utilizes multiple synthesizers with various timbres and qualities.[30] Mintzer's songs were streamed over 20 million times in 2016.[31] According to social media analytics site, Twitter Counter, as of January 16, 2017, Mintzer is ranked #1,861 for the number of followers among all Twitter users.[32][33] In 2016 and 2017, Mintzer served as a part-time instructor for the WeBop program at Jazz at Lincoln Center.[34]

Bitcoin Involvement

Performing Saxophone at the Dubai Bitcoin Conference at the Dubai International Financial Center in the United Arab Emirates(December 12, 2014)

Beginning in spring of 2014, Mintzer received media attention for advocating the use of bitcoin.[35] In May 2014, he co-directed a bitcoin-themed music festival at the New York City Bitcoin Center. The Ross Mintzer Band played at the festival.[21] In December 2014, he performed saxophone at the Dubai Bitcoin Conference at the Dubai International Financial Centre in the United Arab Emirates.[36]

Discography

Songs

EPs with Remington

  • Songs For Our Friends (2007)[37]
  • Thank You Mr. Remington (2008)[38]
  • Warm Winter (2008)[39]
  • Human Music" (2009)

Songs with Ross Mintzer Band

References

  1. ↑ Musicbrainz, "Ross Mintzer", MusicBrainz, October 30, 2014.
  2. ↑ AllMusic.com, "Ross Mintzer", AllMusic.com, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  3. ↑ NPR Media Player, "From The Top Listen", National Public Radio, November 1, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  4. 1 2 BusinessWire, "Students from Across the Nation Chosen by The GRAMMY Foundation to Participate in Prestigious Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles Program", The Grammy Foundation press release. January 6, 2005.
  5. ↑ The Second Floor, "T2F & Ross Mintzer Present the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Girls Choir" Saturday, February 11, 2012.
  6. ↑ Macheel, Tanaya. “How Bitcoin Helps Afghan Girls Achieve Financial Freedom.” Coindesk. June 7, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Schweitzer, Callie. "Home-Grown Talent Chosen for Grammy Band." Larchmont Gazette.
  8. ↑ Element Prime Magazine. "Change Makers: Ross Mintzer." March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Mintzer Plays in Dr. Meeker" Larchmont Gazette. May 24, 2007.
  10. 1 2 "The Giving Tree with Remington." Archived 2013-08-07 at Archive.is Flavor Pill archives
  11. 1 2 Enright, Ed. "Broad Sounds." Downbeat Magazine. June 2005. pg. 114
  12. ↑ BTC Geek. "Ross Mintzer Band (Bitcoin Band) to Perform Live in New York City." BTC Geek. March 29, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Show 125: Winona Lake, Indiana." June 18, 2005
  14. ↑ "Best Friends Make the Best Music." "From the Top." NPR. November 1, 2006
  15. ↑ University of Wisconsin-Madison "Jazziz on disc. October 2005 Ed. 5" University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries. October, 2005
  16. ↑ Bialczak, Mark. "Evans Brings Remington North for Homecoming." Music Notebook. Syracuse.com. February 7, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Alumni From Touring Band and Education Program." From The Top October 28, 2009
  18. ↑ "Band Offers Summer Program to Kids in Michigan." From the Top
  19. ↑ Macheel, Tanaya. “How Bitcoin Helps Afghan Girls Achieve Financial Freedom.” Coindesk. June 7, 2014
  20. ↑ Mustafa, Shabina. "Farewell to our American friend!" The Garage School. February 20, 2012
  21. 1 2 Hulseapple, Cheryl. "‘People In Bitcoin’ Series Aims to Film Diverse Experiences with Cryptocurrency" The CoinTelegraph. February 18, 2015.
  22. ↑ "The Ross Mintzer Band." Accessed August 5, 2013
  23. ↑ Michiko Studios. "Ross Mintzer Band" Hot House pg. 19. April, 2015
  24. ↑ The Stage. "YouTube sensation Ross Mintzer w Kevin Ryan." Pelham Patch June 8, 2013 at 10:45 am
  25. ↑ "World Wave Morning." NHK World. Aired February 22, 2014
  26. ↑ "Mintzer, Ross TRI-M “Honorary Life Membership” " May 5, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Ross Mintzer performing the national anthem - "The Star-Spangled Banner" Facebook. July 9, 2015.
  28. ↑ Joe (January 7, 2016). "Ross Mintzer - Refugee". Daily Dose of Bass. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  29. ↑ The Hype Magazine (January 21, 2016). "Ross Mintzer - Refugee (@RossMintzer)". The Hype Magazine. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  30. ↑ Alexander Poe (May 25, 2016). "How to Recognize Different Types of Synthesis". Active Listening. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  31. ↑ Ross Mintzer Official SoundCloud. SoundCloud. January 23, 2017.
  32. ↑ Ross Mintzer Twitter Stats. Twitter Counter. January 16, 2017.
  33. ↑ Twitter Inc. (January 16, 2017). "Verified Twitter Profile". Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Story Section" Facebook Inc. January 18, 2017.
  35. ↑ Levine, Adam B. “LTB94 - Privacy and the Arts.” Let's Talk Bitcoin. March 22, 2014.
  36. ↑ Newsbot."'The Bitcoin Band' led by Ross Mintzer (who also performed at Dubai Bitcoin Conference) will perform live in New York City on 4/4/2015" CryptoGeeks. March 29, 2015.
  37. ↑ O'Brien Smith, Ben. “Review: Remington – NYC Indie/Dance Rock band doing all the right things” September 28, 2008.
  38. ↑ Bialczak, Mark. "Trio With Heart and Soul" Syracuse(Review Section). March, 2007.
  39. ↑ Brickman, Jared. “New Remington EP: The Warm Winter” April 13, 2008.
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