Rent Romus, jazz saxophonist and record label director from the San Francisco Bay area will perform with his Rustbelt Ensemble

Hailed by Downbeat as having "a bold sound, unmistakable sincerity and conviction," Rent Romus "swings like death and hell" according to the late Danish writer and producer Jack Lind. Born in the upper peninsula of Michigan and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Romus' work on the saxophone has been dubbed “ferocious” by the San Francisco Weekly and “central to the creative music world of the West Coast” by writer jazz critic Frank Rubolino. He also runs the label Edgetone Records.

From his very beginnings as a student of jazz while being exposed to the twilight tutelage of Stan Getz, Romus found himself drawn to the outer realms of Sun Ra and Albert Ayler, as well as Derek Bailey and Merzbow. Exploring improvisation and composition in a wide variety of musical settings, he has recorded on over 35 albums to critical acclaim while helping to build and support the music community in the San Francisco Bay area. Nevertheless, Romus still feels a strong connection to his Midwest roots: “every time I return to the Midwest where my family has lived for generations,” says Romus, “I feel a sense of completion I don’t get anywhere else. What better way to express that than to create with members of the jazz and improvised music communities.”

Formed specifically for this occasion, Rent Romus' Rustbelt Ensemble will showcase this gritty, post-industrial improvising style in its debut performance, combining musicians from Cleveland and Columbus together under Romus' leadership. In addition to Cox, the group will include Columbus multi-reedman Hasan Abdur Razzaq (of the group Wizards); the ensemble will also include the members of Cleveland group Baekdudaegan: Bob Drake (modular electronics), Alex Henry (saxophones) and J Guy Laughlin, Jr. (percussion).

Following the Bop Stop performance, the Ensemble will join Orange, host of the weekly freeform radio program “The Brewing Luminous” on WCSB 89.3 FM, for a live on-air conversation and performance Thursday, June 11, 11:00am-12:30pm. From there, Romus and others from Cleveland will head to Columbus for the weekend to participate in the What You Will festival.