Musician, Composer, Bandleader, Educator and Activist Roxy Coss received the 2022 Downbeat Critics’ Poll “Rising Star” award on Soprano Saxophone, is a recipient of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award, the Hothouse Magazine & Jazzmobile “Tenor Saxophone” Award, and is a Jazziz Magazine “Artist to Watch”. She has performed around the world, headlining at the Newport Jazz Festival, Melbourne Big Band Festival, NYC Winter JazzFest, BRIC JazzFest, Earshot Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Summerfest, Jazz Standard, and Jazz Showcase. Coss has performed as a side musician with Jazz greats and luminaries including Clark Terry, Billy Kaye, Maurice Hines, Rufus Reid, Louis Hayes, Gene Perla, Houston Person, Claudio Roditi, Bill Charlap, Geoffrey Keezer, Willie Jones III, Jeremy Pelt, Darcy James Argue, the DIVA Jazz Orchestra.

Roxy has six albums out under her own name, including her latest release, Disparate Parts (Outside in Music), which was met with critical acclaim. Her fifth album Quintet (Outside in Music), received a 4-Star review from Downbeat. The Roxy Coss Quintet, featuring some of the world’s finest young musicians, is the first-ever recipient of the Emerging Artist Project, a four-year grant from the Local 802 Musicians Union. They largely perform Coss’ original compositions. Her composition work can also be found on Jeremy Pelt’s recording, Face Forward, Jeremy (High Note).

Coss grew up in Seattle, WA where she attended the acclaimed Garfield High School Jazz Ensemble, and graduated from William Paterson University in 2008 with a BM in Jazz Studies/Performance. She has been living in the New York area since 2004. Roxy currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Jazz Education Network (JEN), is Jazz Faculty at The Juilliard School, and is the President & Founder of Women In Jazz Organization (WIJO). She is also an endorsing Artist for P. Mauriat, Vandoren, and Key Leaves products.

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The Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program at UNCG is a unique and innovative undergraduate jazz program designed to emulate the traditional process of learning jazz, through a combination of mentorship, real-world playing experiences, and a communal approach to learning. Although the program is housed in one of the largest music schools in the Southeast, it is kept intentionally small, resulting in an intensive and highly personalized learning environment.