Rent Romus
Encyclopedia
Rent Romus is an American saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, music and performing arts producer, and community leader living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
summer programs where he participated in master classes led by Stan Getz
, Bruce Forman
, Eddie Moore
, and Dizzy Gillespie
. Romus’s exposure to Stan Getz
was a pivotal moment in his early development where Getz would ask him to find a mirror and work on his tone watching his embrasure
as he played. His pivotal experience with the tenor saxophonist was when Getz picked up his horn and joined him in a rendition of the song "I’ll Remember April" during a master class.
When Romus was sixteen years of age, his first experience in curation was hoisted upon him after his high school teacher Dick Goodrich quit his job leaving him in charge of a 17-piece big band called the North Area Youth Jazz Ensemble (NAYJE). From 1987 - 1991 he attended the University of California at Santa Cruz. While at college he led the band Jazz on the Line
which he had founded alongside saxophonist/composer Michael Sidney Timpson
in 1984, that served as a vehicle for the members' compositions and performances.
including In the Moment with tenor saxophonist Chico Freeman
. Other performing members during the group’s history included saxophonist Dan Magay, pianist Stephano DeZerega, trumpeter Jason Olaine, vocalist Anna Gurski, and drummer Ben Leinbach. Other guest artists included drummer Steve Rossi, bassists Ravi Abcarian, Corin Stiggall, and Ernie Provenchure.
After graduating from the University of California in Santa Cruz in 1992, Romus worked odd jobs before moving to San Francisco in 1993 where he formed a trio with drummer James Zitro and former Sun Ra
Arkestra cellist Kash Killion, originally called the RKZtet and later dubbed the Lords of Outland.
In 1995 Romus changed personnel of the group to include his long time associate Jason Olaine along with drummer Andrew Borger and bassist Vytas Nagisetty (aka Brock Lee). That same year he recorded the first Lords of Outland album entitled You'll Never Be the Same. In the summer of 1995 and 1996 Romus toured in Denmark with pianist Jonas Müller , drummer Tomas Barfod, drummer Stefan Pasborg
which later lead to his 1999 recording with Pasborg and bassist Jonas Westergaard as the Blood Motions Trio. In 1997 Romus performed and recorded with Jon Birdsong, Dave Mihaly, and guest tenor saxophonist John Tchicai
known best for his work with John Coltrane
and Albert Ayler
in the 1960s. In 1998 Romus worked with instrument inventor Tom Nunn, cellist Doug Carroll, guitarist Joel Harrison and drummer Dave Mihaly. This formation focused on a set of compositions inspired by the writings of author Philip K. Dick
.
. In 2002 Romus began working with poet/musician/artist CJ Borosque whom he later married. Together they produced The Metal Quan Yin (destinations suite) with an expanded group that included vocalist Jesse Quattro and Andre Custodio, based on her self published book of the same name. That same year also marked a shift in Romus’ musical exploration branching out into complete free improvisation when he alongside guitarist Ernesto Diaz-Infante created The Abstractions a collective ensemble that ranged in size from two to ten players. The group toured the west coast of the United States in 2002 and 2004 and released three recordings and included Jesse Quattro, Scott R Looney, Bob Marsh, Philip Everett, Sandor Finta, CJ Borosque, Ray Schaeffer, Lance Grabmiller, Alwyn Quebido, and Dina Emerson.
In 2006 Romus toured through the midwest of the United States performing in St. Lois Missouri, Urbana Illinois, Detroit Michigan, and Columbus Ohio with stops along the east coast to Philadelphia and New York City with composer and pianist Thollem Mcdonas and drummer Jon Brumit as the Bloom Project. In contrast to the Lords of Outland, Bloom Project featured a more sparse melodic repertoire. During that same year Romus shifted the roster of the current Lords of Outland with drummer Philip Everett, bassist Ray Schaeffer, and CJ Borosque on no-input effects pedals mixing harsh noise and free improvisation and producing recordings to present day.
. Romus runs Edgetone Records, launched in 1991 originally as a vanity label to support his recordings, and later in 2001 began releasing other artists primarily from the San Francisco Bay Area
crossing many forms of improvised and experimental music. He was the Executive Director of Jazz in Flight from 1996-1997 a non-profit jazz presenting organization based in Oakland California until it disbanded in 2001, which booked creative touring and local performing musicians at Yoshi's (jazz club)
in Oakland California. He founded Outsound Presents, a non-profit artist-based organization and serves as the Executive Director while curating The SIMM Music Series at the Musicians Union Hall as well as the Luggage Store Gallery New Music Series in San Francisco. Romus co-founded and was the Director of Promotion for the SFAlt Festival in 2002-04 which led to him create and organize the annual Edgetone New Music Summit, a national experimental music festival held in the greater San Francisco Bay Area
. The festival is now produced under the Outsound Presents banner which continues at the present under the title, Outsound New Music Summit.
Emergency Rental, The Emergency String (X)tet meet Rent Romus, 2010
XV (the first fifteen years 1994-2009), Lords of Outland, 2009
Sudden Aurora, Bloom Project with Thollem Mcdonas, 2009
GRID, Ministry of Rites, 2008
Thundershine, Jazz On The Line with Chico Freeman (re-issue of In The Moment), 2008
Prismatic Season, Bloom Project, 2008
You can sleep when you're dead!, Lords of Outland, 2008
Bloom, Bloom Project with Thollem Mcdonas, Jon Brumit, and Steven Baker, 2006
Culture of Pain, Lords of Outland, 2006
Reverberations of Spring Past, 2006
The Foolkiller, Tri-Cornered Tent Show, 2005
Novo Navigatio, The Abstractions, 2004
ARS VIVENDE, The Abstractions, 2003
Sonic Conspiracy, The Abstractions, 2002
The Metal Quan Yin, Lords of Outland with poet CJ Borosque, 2002
PKD Vortex Project, Lords of Outland, inspired by the Stories of Phil K. Dick, 2001
Out of Town - Guinea Pig, 2001
Avatar In the Field – A Tribute to Albert Ayler, Lords of Outland, 2001
Blood Motions, Life’s Blood Trio, 1999
Adapt…or DIE!, Lords of Outland with John Tchicai, 1997
You’ll Never Be The Same, Lords of Outland, 1995
Jazz on the Line with Chico Freeman, In The Moment, 1994
Jazz on the Line, no boundaries, 1991
Jazz on the Line, Dark Wind, 1988
Tri-Cornered Tent Show Legion of Dagon, 2004
Jim Ryan's Forward Energy Configurations, 2002
Moe!kestra!, Two Forms of Multitudes, 2003
Paris Slim with Joe Lewis Walker, Sonny Rhodes, Bleedin’ Heart, 996
Beginnings
Rent Romus began playing piano at the age of five until he was thirteen when he decided to play the alto saxophone, which his mother also played. In 1982 and 1984, Romus attended the Stanford Jazz WorkshopStanford Jazz Workshop
Stanford Jazz Workshop was founded in 1972 by saxophonist and educator Jim Nadel to create an environment conducive to learning, experiencing and appreciating jazz...
summer programs where he participated in master classes led by Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
, Bruce Forman
Bruce Forman
Bruce Forman is an American jazz guitarist.Forman moved to San Francisco in 1971 and led his own groups in the area for several years, in addition to performing regularly at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He played with Richie Cole from 1978 to 1982. His most successful album as a leader was 1992's...
, Eddie Moore
Eddie Moore
Eddie Deon Moore is an American football player who currently plays linebacker for the Denver Broncos. He went to high school in South Pittsburg, Tennessee...
, and Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
. Romus’s exposure to Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
was a pivotal moment in his early development where Getz would ask him to find a mirror and work on his tone watching his embrasure
Embrasure
In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle...
as he played. His pivotal experience with the tenor saxophonist was when Getz picked up his horn and joined him in a rendition of the song "I’ll Remember April" during a master class.
When Romus was sixteen years of age, his first experience in curation was hoisted upon him after his high school teacher Dick Goodrich quit his job leaving him in charge of a 17-piece big band called the North Area Youth Jazz Ensemble (NAYJE). From 1987 - 1991 he attended the University of California at Santa Cruz. While at college he led the band Jazz on the Line
Jazz on the Line
Jazz on the Line is a San Francisco Bay Area jazz sextet formed in the early 1980s by Rent Romus . At its initial inception, it primarily featured the compositions of its co-founders and included notable musicians such as saxophonist/composer Michael Sidney Timpson, saxophonist Dan Magay and...
which he had founded alongside saxophonist/composer Michael Sidney Timpson
Michael Sidney Timpson
Michael Sidney Timpson is an American composer of contemporary classical music.Although clearly a composer of the concert art-music genre, his definitive style combines elements of European, American, and Asian musical sources...
in 1984, that served as a vehicle for the members' compositions and performances.
The Nineties
Between 1989 and 1994 Romus produced three albums with Jazz on the LineJazz on the Line
Jazz on the Line is a San Francisco Bay Area jazz sextet formed in the early 1980s by Rent Romus . At its initial inception, it primarily featured the compositions of its co-founders and included notable musicians such as saxophonist/composer Michael Sidney Timpson, saxophonist Dan Magay and...
including In the Moment with tenor saxophonist Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman...
. Other performing members during the group’s history included saxophonist Dan Magay, pianist Stephano DeZerega, trumpeter Jason Olaine, vocalist Anna Gurski, and drummer Ben Leinbach. Other guest artists included drummer Steve Rossi, bassists Ravi Abcarian, Corin Stiggall, and Ernie Provenchure.
After graduating from the University of California in Santa Cruz in 1992, Romus worked odd jobs before moving to San Francisco in 1993 where he formed a trio with drummer James Zitro and former Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
Arkestra cellist Kash Killion, originally called the RKZtet and later dubbed the Lords of Outland.
In 1995 Romus changed personnel of the group to include his long time associate Jason Olaine along with drummer Andrew Borger and bassist Vytas Nagisetty (aka Brock Lee). That same year he recorded the first Lords of Outland album entitled You'll Never Be the Same. In the summer of 1995 and 1996 Romus toured in Denmark with pianist Jonas Müller , drummer Tomas Barfod, drummer Stefan Pasborg
Stefan Pasborg
Stefan Pasborg is a Danish drummer, composer and bandleader, and the founding member of ILK MUSIC, a Danish record label.-Biography:In 2004 he was voted "New Name of The Year" at the Danish Music Award Jazz 2004 and his release Toxikum was voted Jazz Discovery of the Year...
which later lead to his 1999 recording with Pasborg and bassist Jonas Westergaard as the Blood Motions Trio. In 1997 Romus performed and recorded with Jon Birdsong, Dave Mihaly, and guest tenor saxophonist John Tchicai
John Tchicai
John Martin Tchicai is a Danish jazz saxophonist. He was one of the earliest European free jazz musicians. He is of Danish and Congolese descent....
known best for his work with John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
and Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
in the 1960s. In 1998 Romus worked with instrument inventor Tom Nunn, cellist Doug Carroll, guitarist Joel Harrison and drummer Dave Mihaly. This formation focused on a set of compositions inspired by the writings of author Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
.
New Millenium
In 2001 Romus reinvented the Lords of Outland with bassist Bill Noertker, drummer Dave Mihaly and the late trombonist Toyoji Tomita, and later that year recorded Avatar In the Field a tribute to the late saxophonist Albert AylerAlbert Ayler
Albert Ayler was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer.Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved...
. In 2002 Romus began working with poet/musician/artist CJ Borosque whom he later married. Together they produced The Metal Quan Yin (destinations suite) with an expanded group that included vocalist Jesse Quattro and Andre Custodio, based on her self published book of the same name. That same year also marked a shift in Romus’ musical exploration branching out into complete free improvisation when he alongside guitarist Ernesto Diaz-Infante created The Abstractions a collective ensemble that ranged in size from two to ten players. The group toured the west coast of the United States in 2002 and 2004 and released three recordings and included Jesse Quattro, Scott R Looney, Bob Marsh, Philip Everett, Sandor Finta, CJ Borosque, Ray Schaeffer, Lance Grabmiller, Alwyn Quebido, and Dina Emerson.
In 2006 Romus toured through the midwest of the United States performing in St. Lois Missouri, Urbana Illinois, Detroit Michigan, and Columbus Ohio with stops along the east coast to Philadelphia and New York City with composer and pianist Thollem Mcdonas and drummer Jon Brumit as the Bloom Project. In contrast to the Lords of Outland, Bloom Project featured a more sparse melodic repertoire. During that same year Romus shifted the roster of the current Lords of Outland with drummer Philip Everett, bassist Ray Schaeffer, and CJ Borosque on no-input effects pedals mixing harsh noise and free improvisation and producing recordings to present day.
Curator, Producer
From his first experience as a young music producer in 1984 with the North Area Youth Jazz Ensemble (NAYJE), Romus continued to produce and curate performances and presentations in the San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Romus runs Edgetone Records, launched in 1991 originally as a vanity label to support his recordings, and later in 2001 began releasing other artists primarily from the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
crossing many forms of improvised and experimental music. He was the Executive Director of Jazz in Flight from 1996-1997 a non-profit jazz presenting organization based in Oakland California until it disbanded in 2001, which booked creative touring and local performing musicians at Yoshi's (jazz club)
Yoshi's (jazz club)
Yoshi's is the preeminent jazz club of the San Francisco Bay Area.Started as a Japanese restaurant in Berkeley by Yoshi Akiba, a World War II war orphan, , and her friends Kaz Kajimura and Hiroyuki Hori, the club soon moved to a larger space on Claremont Avenue in Oakland, California and began to...
in Oakland California. He founded Outsound Presents, a non-profit artist-based organization and serves as the Executive Director while curating The SIMM Music Series at the Musicians Union Hall as well as the Luggage Store Gallery New Music Series in San Francisco. Romus co-founded and was the Director of Promotion for the SFAlt Festival in 2002-04 which led to him create and organize the annual Edgetone New Music Summit, a national experimental music festival held in the greater San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. The festival is now produced under the Outsound Presents banner which continues at the present under the title, Outsound New Music Summit.
As a Leader/Co-leader
Edge of Dark, Lords of Outland with Vinny Golia, 2011Emergency Rental, The Emergency String (X)tet meet Rent Romus, 2010
XV (the first fifteen years 1994-2009), Lords of Outland, 2009
Sudden Aurora, Bloom Project with Thollem Mcdonas, 2009
GRID, Ministry of Rites, 2008
Thundershine, Jazz On The Line with Chico Freeman (re-issue of In The Moment), 2008
Prismatic Season, Bloom Project, 2008
You can sleep when you're dead!, Lords of Outland, 2008
Bloom, Bloom Project with Thollem Mcdonas, Jon Brumit, and Steven Baker, 2006
Culture of Pain, Lords of Outland, 2006
Reverberations of Spring Past, 2006
The Foolkiller, Tri-Cornered Tent Show, 2005
Novo Navigatio, The Abstractions, 2004
ARS VIVENDE, The Abstractions, 2003
Sonic Conspiracy, The Abstractions, 2002
The Metal Quan Yin, Lords of Outland with poet CJ Borosque, 2002
PKD Vortex Project, Lords of Outland, inspired by the Stories of Phil K. Dick, 2001
Out of Town - Guinea Pig, 2001
Avatar In the Field – A Tribute to Albert Ayler, Lords of Outland, 2001
Blood Motions, Life’s Blood Trio, 1999
Adapt…or DIE!, Lords of Outland with John Tchicai, 1997
You’ll Never Be The Same, Lords of Outland, 1995
Jazz on the Line with Chico Freeman, In The Moment, 1994
Jazz on the Line, no boundaries, 1991
Jazz on the Line, Dark Wind, 1988
As a sideman
C.O.M.A. California Outside Music Associates, 2004Tri-Cornered Tent Show Legion of Dagon, 2004
Jim Ryan's Forward Energy Configurations, 2002
Moe!kestra!, Two Forms of Multitudes, 2003
Paris Slim with Joe Lewis Walker, Sonny Rhodes, Bleedin’ Heart, 996