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Bob Ravenscroft

Pianist-keyboardist Bob Ravenscroft is an accomplished jazz musician, composer, recording artist, and teacher. Most of Bob's recording activities have been in jazz trio and solo piano formats. Recently, he is concentrating his recording activities on the solo piano idiom and the group Inner Journeys. Both settings explore his love of free composition modalities.

His newest venture in recording and performance has been in the presentation of "LoveSong" concerts which mix his reading of standard jazz lyrics and other related poetry with both straight-ahead and freestyle solo piano renderings.

An able and avid teacher, Bob has served on several university jazz studies faculties over the years. Additionally, he toured for a decade with the Christian ministry "Majesty." In 2004 Bob founded Music Serving The Word Ministries (MSW) where he continues to create - and encourage - others to discover new and innovative ways for music to transcend mere performance and truly serve the living Word. John 1:1

Bob also records devotionals for MSW that combine music with readings from the works of leading Christian authors and biblical scholars in a program entitled “Morning Glories.” Incidentally, Bob shares his heart for ministry with ancestor Thomas Ravenscroft who composed "The Whole Book of Psalms" in 1621.

An essential audio devotional series entitled "Discover the Lectionary" is a recent project with Richard Parrish, Director of Spiritual Care for MSW Ministries. Together, they've composed an extensive audio library consisting of all three years [A, B, and C]of the Revised Common Lectionary, [which follows the Liturgical calendar of the church]. Each weekly reading features Richard Parrish speaking the scriptures, prayers, and commentary while Bob weaves improvisational music into and around the spoken word. These deeply inspirational devotions are available at www.discoverhope.net.

David Friesen & Bob Ravenscroft: Passage

Read "Passage" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
April 25, 2021

After decades of recording in small ensemble formats, bassist David Friesen offered up Testimony (Origin Records) in 2020, an outing which found him backed by his quartet and the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine on his best and most ambitious recording. He followed that up in 2021 by going back to the—for him— familiar territory of the art of the duo, enlisting pianist Bob Ravenscroft in the creation of Passages. The duo presents twenty-five musical vignettes, brief ...

"Master improvisational pianist Bob Ravenscroft has been a vital force in the Valley’s jazz community for decades — as an inspirational educator, consummate musician and generous philanthropist. Bob has concentrated much of his creative juice on free jazz and his unique brand of spiritual-based music for many years, and will continue in his brilliant interpretation of songs from the Great American Song Book, original compositions, and the magnificent works associated with iconic jazz pianist Bill Evans." — Joel Robbins, The Nash, Phoenix, AZ