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Frank Rosaly

About Me

Frank Rosaly is a Puerto Rican-American composer, sound designer, drummer and performer who developed his musical voice in Chicago. Now based in Amsterdam, his reductionist approach is centered around folkloric ideology, inspired by eco-centric phenomena such as infrasound and the advanced rhythmic sensibilities of animals, insects and plants. Devout to the research of pre-Columbus indigenous musical and ceremonial output of the Tainos and the Americas, his development points towards ritual and trance (as a phenomenon) informed by the rich canon of jazz, improvised music, hip hop, punk rock, EDM, classical music as well as the ritual process. His journey in sound is a study & his musical contributions are offerings. He contributes much of his time beyond performing & composing to organizing events and touring internationally.

Frank has toured internationally for over 20 years, performing at renowned music festivals with some of the most influential musicians in improvised, jazz, free-jazz, experimental and rock ensembles and has been featured on over 160 recordings since 2003. He has also been a force in Musiektheater in the Netherlands since 2015, composing and performing with some of the biggest names in Theatre. Frank co-organizes community gatherings, performances, film screenings and other events under the Molk Factory moniker with partners Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti, Jochem Van Tol, Noralie vd Einde and Rosa Roosdorf in Amsterdam.

Notable performances: Chicago Jazz Festival | The Kennedy Center | Berlin Jazz Festival | Amsterdam Jazz Festival | Hyde Park Jazz Festival | Hopscotch Festival | Thirsty Ear Festival | A’larme Festival Berlin | Mo’ Pop Festival | Pitchfork Music Festival | The Rest is Noise | Le Guess Who? | Into the Great Wide Open | Lowlands | Down the Rabbit Hole | Willisau Festival | Moers Festival | Rolling Stone Weekender | JazzFest Berlin | Vossa Jazz Festival | Kongsberg Jazz Festival | Sardinia Jazz Festival | DOEK Festival | Mondriaan Jazz Festival | Matik Matik Festival, Bogota | Summer Bummer Festival | Cotton Club Tokyo | Transition Festival | Sonic Transmission Festival | ADE Festival | Newport Jazz Festival | Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival | Oerol | Rewire Festival | Minimal Music Festival | Cello Bianale | Present Festival | Amsterdam Jazziest | Etc.

As an improviser, Frank is currently active in many projects from Chicago, New York and in Europe. Some groups (some older, some newer) include Silverbones, duo with Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti, ¡Todos De Pie!, Ruidoscuro, Meral Polat Trio, Skylla, The Young Mothers, Natural Information Society, Eric Boeren's All Ellington, with Colin Stetson, with Thurston Moore, Health&Beauty, Ryley Walker, Kikagaku Moyo, Bobby Bradford, Frode Gjerstad, Rob Mazurek’s Mandarin Movie, The Rempis Percussion Quartet, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten Quintet, Scorch Trio/Quartet, Mars Williams, Jim Baker, Nicole Mitchell Ice Crystal Quartet, Jeff Parker/Nels Cline Quartet, Fred Lonberg-Holm’s Valentine Trio, The Jeb Bishop Trio, Jason Adasievicz’s Rolldown, Jorrit Dijkstra’s Flatlands Collective, Chicago Lucern Exchange, Anchor and others.

Frank has been featured on over 175 recordings.

Past performance collaborations include Fennesz, David Daniell, Rhys Chatham, Tony Conrad, Bobby Bradford, Joan of Arc, Frode Gjerstad, Matana Roberts, Jeff Parker, Ben LaMar Gay, Thurston Moore, Peter Brotzmann, Tony Malaby, Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Coleman, Bill MacKay, Matt Lux, Tony Conrad, Paul Flaherty, Marshall Allen, Louis Moholo, Nels Cline, Eric Boeren, Ken Vandermark, Michael Zerang, Walter Weirbos, White/Light, Doug McCombs, Moon Bros, Michael Attias, Michael Moore and Dave Rempis among many others.

Other projects within the scope of Muziektheater includes working with Wunderbaum, Paper Ensemble, OKAPI, Nicole Beutler Projects, Ulrique Quade Company, Schwegman&, Nineties Productions and Veenfabriek.