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.

The tracks for Face To Face were recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood with legendary recording engineer, Al Schmitt (Diana Krall, Ray Charles) at the controls. The University of Soul's faculty includes some of the nation's top musicians and singers: producer/guitarist Jerry Stucker (Paul Jackson, Holland-Dozier-Holland); drummers James Gadson (Donald Fagin, Marvin Gaye) and Steve Gadd (James Taylor, Eric Clapton); bassist Freddie Washington (Simon & Garfunkel, Michael Jackson); B3 organist Neil Larsen (Aaron Neville, Al Jarreau); tenor and soprano sax player Ernie Watts (Charlie Haden, The Rolling Stones) and backing vocalists Sandy Griffith (Whitney Houston, Elton John, Boz Scaggs) and Jeannie Tracy (Two Tons of Fun, Weather Girls, Aretha Franklin). Grammy-award winner, Ed Cherney, mixed the album at The Village in Los Angeles.

The diverse palette of Face To Face will appeal to lovers of classic pop and R&B, smooth jazz, blues, contemporary jazz and Adult Contemporary. In his songwriting and arranging, RJ Ross has a cosmopolitan approach and never talks down to his audience, trusting in their musical sophistication and ability to enjoy his grown up, somewhat detached take on life and love as well as his remarkable musicianship.

RJ Ross grew up in Detroit surrounded by the sounds that would influence him all his life: Soul, R&B and Motown - especially Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin.

He started his musical career playing trumpet in the grammar school band and was leading his own dance band by the time he was eleven. "When I was nine, someone came to the class with pictures of band instruments. I liked the trumpet's looks and studied privately for years, but as soon as I picked up the trumpet, I could play and entertain the other kids. I was playing a jazzy version of the folk song 'Erie Canal' in the hall shortly after I got my trumpet. The music teacher dragged me down to the band room and when the kids heard me, they went wild!

It was my first taste of how much fun it is to entertain an audience."
"When I was eleven, I started a band and we worked continually. Later on we added guitars to the line up of piano, drums bass and me on trumpet. We did parties and weddings. For the grownups I'd play trumpet on songs like 'Days of Wine and Roses' and other standards; for the kids I'd sing and play tambourine on Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Ray Charles tunes." RJ was also the MC and booked the jobs and paid the musicians.

At sixteen RJ Ross wrote and sang lead on "You're the Love" with his band The Sixpence. The band name was a nod to the British invasion, but they were playing their own version of Motown. When Ross took the demo to Impact Records, the band got signed. "You're the Love" got airplay in a few markets and a bubbling under the top 100 notice in Billboard.
After studying music at Wayne State, RJ Ross helped form the legendary Detroit funk band Brainstorm. Their song, "Lovin' Is Really My Game" rose to #3 on the Billboard Dance Charts and #14 on the R&B Charts.

The album received an award from Billboard as best album of the year in the "light airplay" category. "This Must Be Heaven", a Ross original, became a radio hit. It continues to get airplay around the world and is considered a soul classic. It recently appeared on a compilation called Soul Classics, Vol. 2 on Collectables Records. RJ joined the band as keyboard player, but inspired his band mates with his desire for a professional regimen of rehearsals. They were soon the top band in the Detroit area and released an album, Stormin', on the Tabu label.

After leaving Brainstorm, RJ Ross moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. He played in local bands and soon became the in-house keyboardist and midi expert at the world-famous Fantasy Studios. While he was there he worked as an arranger, producer, songwriter and studio musician. He contributed to recordings by Jeffrey Osborne, Eddie Money, MC Hammer and the Swedish rock group Europe.

He left Fantasy to found RJ Ross Productions where he continued doing production, arranging, composing and keyboard work for a variety of artists, including soon to be superstar Tupac Shakur.

RJ had just started work on his solo debut when the phone rang and his life changed. "The voice on the line told me that I had incurable, inoperable stage-four cancer. (There is no stage-five.) I had no symptoms, but my world careened to a total stop."

Ross embarked on an incredible five year battle and eventually proved all the experts wrong. His cure included alternative medicine, Chinese medicine, macrobiotics, vitamins, herbs and experimental drugs. He finally found a doctor willing to operate on him and after the very risky, nine hour surgery got another surprise. The cancer was not the rare and super-aggressive cancer he had been diagnosed with, but an even rarer strain that was actually only borderline malignant. After many more complications and surgeries, Ross recovered and is today cancer free. He lifts weights, rides his mountain bike, takes power walks, swims laps and practices yoga.

"Just as I was recovering, my old associate, producer Jerry Stucker, suggested we make an album." Ross and Stucker went into the studio and Face To Face is the satisfying result of their labors. The CD was soon picked up by The Music Force label, and got national distribution by RYKO (Warner Bros.).

"Everyone will eventually have to let go and say goodbye to this amazing world we live in," RJ says in conclusion. "But there's a time to fight. Life throws us tremendous challenges and setbacks, but it's truly awesome how strong our will can be. The will to survive is innate and powerful. It's a deep source we can tap into in the darkest night of the soul." That fierce power is evident in every note Professor RJ Ross plays and every syllable he sings; a Soul Survivor whose joyful, uplifting message is a testament to his indomitable spirit and innate musical sense.

Website :- www.professorrjross.com