"Meissner deserve[s] a lot of credit for making the album [Matt Renzi’s The Cave] a success." - Jazz Times
"Meissner’s arsenal of percussive and drumming techniques provide the springboard." - All About Jazz
"as comfortable in a textural role as he is a more straightforward rhythmic one." - All About Jazz
"a random variable not averse to throwing his bandmates a percussive curve." - All About Jazz
"lay[s] down nice earthy grooves." - Jazz Week
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Drummer Russ Meissner is currently involved with several projects including the Jack Grace Band, the Sean Smith Quartet, Gowanus Reggae and Ska Society (G.R.A.S.S), the Matt Renzi Trio, the Billy Lester Trio, Rebecca Pronsky, Lucy Wainwright Roche and Abigail Riccards, among others. Russ grew up in Toronto, Canada and began playing pillows at age 3 (apparently after seeing Mel Torme) and moved on to drums around age 11. In grade 8 he was accepted into the Claude Watson School for the Arts and began taking lessons from percussionist Dave Campion, after being told he was a "drum banger" by his 8th grade band teacher. During high school he got the "fusion bug" shortly followed by the "jazz bug" and took lessons for two years from local jazz drummer, Barry Elmes. In 1991, Russ attended William Paterson University in New Jersey where he studied with John Riley and Rufus Ried and graduated with a BA in jazz performance. He moved to NYC in 1996 and since then has performed with diverse artists including John Abercrombie, Bill Charlap, Lori Carson, Norah Jones, Marian McPartland, Joe Wilder, Dick Hyman, John Scofield, Jim Campilongo and many others. Russ has performed in clubs, concert halls, and festivals throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Israel and Japan.
