Dr Ross McHenry is a multi-award-winning bassist and composer whose musical explorations push at the boundaries of contemporary improvised music, chamber music and beyond. Driven by an intuitive sense of collaboration and a fearless approach to experimentalism, Ross has built a global reputation based on significant international collaborations and performances with leading artists and ensembles across Australia and around the world.

Ross has been recognised through major awards including the 2019 APRA AMCOS Art Music Award for Excellence in Jazz, the 2020 APRA AMCOS Art Music State Luminary Award and the 2020 Arts South Australia Ruby Award for Best Work Outside a Festival. Ross has performed at leading arts festivals including Glastonbury, The Sydney Festival, The Adelaide Festival, The Falls Festival, Splendour in the Grass, Wellington International Jazz Festival and the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and leading venues including the Melbourne Recital Centre and Ronnie Scotts. Ross has released five solo albums, is an Australian Music Centre Associate Artist and holds a PhD in jazz composition.

Ross's practice is underscored by a deep love of the creative possibilities of the recording process. His extensive discography as a bandleader and collaborator showcases an artistic progression that earnestly mirrors his evolution as a composer and artist. Each album is a testament to the possibility of an ever-evolving artistic conversation realised through a deep commitment to the vulnerability and imperfect nature of the artistic process. Driven by a restless and unwavering desire to constantly redefine the possibilities of his own artistic trajectory, Ross continually seeks new collaborations to expand the possibilities of his musical interactions.

Alongside his creative practice, Ross is a dedicated advocate for artistic exploration and a key contributor to the Australian arts sector through leadership roles, as a producer and through research and advocacy.

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“Brilliance in abundance (…) unremitting power and virtuosity (…) McHenry is creating his own oevre”

THE AUSTRALIAN

“McHenry is an artist with a powerful vision”

STEREOPHILE

“Formidable, agile, and ever-imaginative”

TEXTURA

“A rare symbiosis of boundary-pushing experimentation, stop-on-a-dime collaboration, dense harmonics and lamenting melodies all adding up to the kind of textural soundscape that lingers in the brain long after silence ensues (…) It took him five albums but McHenry now has his masterpiece”

GOLDMINE MAGAZINE

“Meditative and oceanic (…) breathtakingly beautiful and turbulent.”

DOWNBEAT

"withering brilliance and overpowering musicality"

"the spirit of Jaco Pastorius is alive in McHenry’s playing"

THE AUSTRALIAN

Superb musicianship (…) McHenry gives each piece a distinctive arc, with enough room to tell a compelling story that repays re-listening

ALL ABOUT JAZZ

Like (Keith) Jarrett, McHenry succeeds in being easy on the ear without sacrificing complexity. The best of his compositions function like journeys, often arriving at destinations far from where they started (…McHenry is) a talent deserving of our attention.

RHYTHMS MAGAZINE

“You won't find fault with any track here. McHenry hits the mark with another superb recording that's adventurous and engaging. He's becoming one of the most prolific musicians on the scene today.”

THE BASIC SOUL SHOW

“The Future of Australian Jazz”

PBS FM

“A dramatic and cinematic musical landscape, bringing poetry to life through sound”

JAZZ LIFE JAPAN

“Be on the lookout for Ross McHenry. The man is going places”

NEXTBOP

"Absurdly Prolific"

SCENESTR MAGAZINE

"Explosions of color, disciplined dynamics, and glorious rhythmic invention"

"a mysterious, joyous amalgam of unified sounds that doesn't so much reflect musical traditions as explore the untended spaces around and beyond them"

ALLMUSIC.COM

"McHenry's got a style that's visionary"

DUSTY GROOVE

"A formidable force in modern Australian jazz"

EAST SIDE RADIO

“Ross McHenry has taken on the baton from the legendary Jaco Pastorius”

JAZZ WEEKLY

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AWARDS

Winner 2020APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards State Luminary Award (SA)

Winner 2020 Ruby Award Best Work Outside of a Festival, Nothing Remains Unchanged

Winner 2019 APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards Excellence in Jazz

Winner 2017 Jazz/Art Music Award, South Australian Music Awards

Winner 2014 Best Jazz Artist Fowlers Live Music Awards (Now known as South Australian Music Awards)

Winner 2014 Achievement Award for contribution to SA music sector, Fowlers Live Music Awards

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Winner 2021 Elder Conservatorium Prize for Excellence in Postgraduate Research

Winner 2022 Best Jazz Artist, SA Music Awards (Shaolin Afronauts)

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Solo releases

Waves (Earshift Records) 2024

Nothing Remains Unchanged (First Word Records 2020)

The Outsiders (First Word Records 2017)

Child of Somebody (First Word Records 2016)

Distant Oceans (First Word Records 2013)

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Releases with Shaolin Afronauts

The Fundamental Nature of Being Part 1 - 5 (Freestyle Records 2022)

Follow the Path (Freestyle Records 2014)

Quest Under Capricorn (Freestyle Records 2012)

Flight of the Ancients (Freestyle Records 2011)