Home » Jazz Musicians » Roswitha

Roswitha

“I’m very vulnerable on this album,” says violinist, producer, and singer-songwriter Roswitha. “I want to create a shift from negative to empowering messages and inspire people to live their dreams because I know how much strength it takes.” On her latest album, Destiny, the renowned jazz and classical artist lives her own dreams, making the bold move to step out as a singer-songwriter. Here, she embraces her total musicality and tastefully integrates her instrumental virtuosity within a musical style Roswitha started to describe as Jazz Rock Pop. It’s an elegantly eclectic blend of jazz, classical, R&B, hip-hop, rock and pop that showcases her gorgeous compositions and soulfully angelic vocals.

Previously, Roswitha has had an esteemed career as “Queen Rose,” a topflight violinist. She has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, in the movie August Rush, at the Latin Grammy’s, and was featured on MTV’s Unplugged with Trey Songz. As a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, she has performed with the likes of John Legend, Santana, Gloria Estefan and Patti LaBelle. Under the name “Rose Bartu,” she’s also built a highly respected jazz profile sharing stages with such icons as Abbey Lincoln, Billy Hart, Joanne Brackeen and Butch Morris and issued the delightfully exotic Cherchez la Verité, a silky jazz album with violin, sensual vocals, and limber Afro Cuban grooves. She lead her own bands performing at celebrated venues like The Blue Note, Knitting Factory and touring Europe. She has notched over 50 production, arrangement, composition and performance credits on over 19 released albums, videos and film soundtracks.

“This change in my career represents coming into my own, presenting myself authentically. I’m embracing all my musical influences and aspects of my creativity, my singing, songwriting, violin playing, and producing,” Roswitha says of her creative breakthrough, her Jazz Rock Pop – album Destiny. “I had no style in mind, I just wanted to create an album you can listen through from beginning to end. My focus was on creating the best songs and delivering them in a way that the message gets heard. It was all about what each song needed, that’s why my violin playing is not so featured. I am surprised of what people hear in it,” Roswitha continues: “In recent years I mostly listened to Soul music. But Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Sting and Prince have been my first popular music influences, maybe it should not surprise me that people hear rock and pop in it.”

Read more

Tags

5
Take Five With...

Take Five With Roswitha aka Rose Bartu

Read "Take Five With Roswitha aka Rose Bartu" reviewed by Roswitha


Meet Roswitha aka Rose Bartu aka Queen Rose:Originally from Austria, Roswitha is a singer/songwriter, violinist, and producer. On her latest album, Destiny, the renowned jazz and classical artist lives her own dreams, making the bold move to step out as a singer/songwriter. Here, she embraces her total musicality and tastefully integrates her instrumental virtuosity within a musical style she describes as jazz-rock-pop. It's an elegantly eclectic blend of jazz, classical, R&B, hip-hop, rock, and pop that showcases her ...

Read more articles
“…Brooklyn Indie Soul, is about as unique as her description of it… a fresh sound…Her voice is light, yet strong in a way that could be compared to any number of female artists including Florence and the Machine or Sia… a progressive sound… finds its place peppered within multiple genres… it has a way of becoming oddly addictive after awhile.” Alec Cunningham, goodvibesmusicreviews
“I’ve put this album under “progressive rock.”…“art rock,”… This is great music that features a lot of violin and very complex compositions and arrangements. There’s a real focus on R&B and soul music, but plenty of other things, most notably world music … Personally, I’d say it falls closest to Bjork… quite an intriguing album … vocals on this cut make me think of Stevie Nicks quite a bit… pure style.” G.W.Hill, Music Street Journal
“…Roswitha dazzles crowds with genre-bending compositions with mixed rock, funk, classical, new age, world fusion, and experimental-folk explosions of sonic beauty….vocally congruent with Adele, Leigh Nash and Katie Melua… Roswitha is an innovative musician that showcases fourteen unique musical concoctions that are almost indefinable

Read more

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Destiny

Unknown label
2013

buy

Here and Now

From: Destiny
By Roswitha

Videos

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.