Jazz pianist Renee Rosnes is appearing twice during the Gilmore Piano Festival in Kalamazoo — first in a two-piano duo with her husband Bill Charlap on Thursday, May 7th at the Williams Theatre (shows at 5 and 8 p.m.), and then with her all-female ensemble Artemis on Friday, May 8th at 7:30 p.m. in the Dalton Center Recital Hall. In a conversation with Cara Lieurance, Rosnes reflects on her Canadian roots, her path into jazz, and the music fans can expect at both concerts.
Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and raised in North Vancouver, Rosnes says she didn't discover jazz until high school. "I became interested in jazz in high school through a music teacher — a band director who knew that I played classically and recruited me for the jazz band," she says. That director, Bob Rebliotti, gave her recordings by artists ranging from Count Basie to Herbie Hancock, and Rosnes says she quickly grasped the depth of the music's history.
Rosnes and Charlap have been married nearly 20 years and keep two Steinway grand pianos in their living room, though she notes they don't rehearse together as often as one might expect. Among the pieces they may perform is Spellbound, a composition Rosnes secretly wrote to honor Charlap at a 92nd Street Y gala. "That's how I think people feel when they listen to him play," she says. "They are spellbound."
Rosnes founded Artemis in 2016 after a European promoter asked her to assemble a band of women musicians for International Women's Day concerts in Paris and Luxembourg. The group has since released three albums on Blue Note Records, most recently Arboresque. Rosnes says the ensemble's strength comes from its members' individuality. "We are made up of five very individual artists with very strong conceptions," she explains, "and we end up with a very unique sound."
The Artemis set in Kalamazoo will feature new material from Arboresque alongside a world premiere: Twilight's Last Gleaming, a piece Rosnes was commissioned to write for a Carnegie Hall performance celebrating America's 250th anniversary. "I tried to capture all my feelings in the piece," she says.
Tickets and more information are at thegilmore.org.
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
