Roger Rossi

I was born into a family of talented, professional musicians, so it was natural for me to follow in their footsteps. I studied classical piano with Mary Findley Ades, and later, jazz piano with James Ball, Prof. Piano Studies, Crane School of Music, Potsdam, NY.

During my 60+ years as a full-time professional, I performed a wide variety of music in Canada, New England, NYC, Upstate New York, The Jersey Shores, Long Island, and Florida.

My professional credits include:

-Piano Accompanist/ Music Director for Canadian recording star Tommy Desmond (3 years).

-Piano Accompanist/ Music Director for Columbia Records Artist Gene Stridel. (3 Years).

-Pianist-Bandleader main dining room of the 5-star Boca Raton Hotel & Club (4 yrs. nightly).

-My quartet often opened and accompanied the legendary Ink Spots at their performances.

-Staff Pianist at Ultrasonic Recording Studios, Hempstead, NY, recording many hits including

The Shangri-Las’ #1 Hit “Leader of the Pack,” in 1964.

-My band opened for the Melissa Manchester Show, at The Breakers Hotel, Palm Beach;

-I performed at several events for legendary golfer, Jack Nicklaus, N. Palm Beach.

-I played the music for golfer Sam Snead’s 90th Birthday Party.

-I'm a Past President of the Wellington Rotary Club, Florida; Paul Harris Fellow.

-Resident Pianist at St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church, Florida -15 years.

“MOBSTERS, MOVIE STARS AND MUSICIANS”

[La Maison Publishing]

I authored a collection of 74 short stories about my encounters with famous people during my career. Some stories are embarrassing, some sad or humorous; all are interesting and true.

The celebrities I’ve encountered include: Princess Diana, Vic Damone, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Rodney Dangerfield, Shelley Winters, Evel Knievel, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Liberace, Joe Louis, Rocky Graziano, Gabe Kaplan, Itzhak Perlman, Robin Leach, John Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump and more!

My book is available on Kindle.com. Amazon.com, and at most bookstores.

Please note, this is the first book I’ve written. But, I’m very energized by so many who have divulged that they really enjoyed it. People like Readers’ Favorite reviewer, Kathryn Bennett who rated it 5-Stars. It’s very encouraging for me to write another, especially when Ms. Bennett stated, “I really wish this book was longer because I want more stories!” My book is 472 pages in length. I doubt she was implying it’s too short. She was suggesting she enjoyed it so much, she didn’t want it to end! With reassuring suggestions like that, I can almost guarantee I WILL author another book; who knows . . . maybe several!!