Face To Face is the first solo album by singer, songwriter and pianist Professor
RJ Ross, but a lifetime of music
went into its production. RJ Ross
has been playing piano, singing, writing and arranging since he was an eleven
year-old prodigy in Detroit. He was a founding member of the legendary Detroit
funk band Brainstorm and played on their award-winning album, Stormin'. To this
day, "This Must Be Heaven," a Ross
original by Brainstorm, continues to get airplay around the world. As midi expert
and in-house keyboard player at the world-famous Fantasy Studios, he worked
with Jeffrey Osborne, Eddie Money, MC Hammer, Tupac Shakur and many others.
Now Ross, along with his band,
The University of Soul, steps into the spotlight with this debut album of classic
R&B and smooth jazz. The album's six American standards and eight originals
showcase Ross's extraordinary songwriting skills, sharp piano work, inventive
arrangements and mellow, soulful vocal style. While hints of the great soul
singers of the past inform RJ's performance, his husky, resonant
sound is all his own, a unique instrument instantly recognizable for its warm,
playful quality.
