Pianist/conductor/composer Florian Ross (b. 1972 Pforzheim, Germany) studied jazz composition and piano in Cologne, London and New York. Besides working with Bob Brookmeyer, Kenny Wheeler, Vince Mendoza, and John Scofield, Ross has composed for the Vancouver Jazz Orchestra, the Metropole Orkest, and the Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. Germany’s Goethe Institute has sent him as musical ambassador to Asia, South Africa, and Central America. Ross’ numerous honors include first prize at the Thad Jones Competition in Denmark and West German Radio’s jazz prize for composition. Ross has taught at various German music conservatories including those in Cologne, Leipzig, Weimar, and Mainz. Jazz Review commented that Ross’ music »… is simply great jazz in the truest sense—challenging, inventive, grounded in tradition but always reaching for new horizons.«