Rent Romus is a saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, music producer, and community leader hailed by Downbeat as having "...a bold sound, unmistakable sincerity and conviction". A third generation Finnish American born in the great north of upper Michigan and growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Romus' work on the saxophone beginning in 1988 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. From his very beginnings as a student of jazz while being exposed to the twilight tutelage of Stan Getz he found himself drawn to the outer realms of Sun Ra and Albert Ayler, as well as Arthur Blythe, Derek Bailey and the far reaches of Merzbow. He currently leads the Lords of Outland a free improvisation unit since 1994, the Life’s Blood Ensemble a compositional contemporary ensemble, and the Finnish/American group Otherworld Ensemble. He has recorded over 40 albums exploring improvisation and composition in a wide variety of musical settings both as a leader and sideman which have included Chico Freeman, John Tchicai, Vinny Golia, Teppo Hauta-aho, Heikki Koskinen, Thollem McDonas, Stefan Pasborg, James Zitro, Marcos Fernandez, and Ernesto Diaz-Infante to name a few. He is the founder of Edgetone Records with over 30 years of independent music production, and performance experience as well as the founder and Executive Director of Outsound Presents under which curates the bi-weekly music series known as SIMM at the Musicians Union Hall, the weekly Luggage Store Gallery Creative Music Series, as well as annual Outsound New Music Summit, the Bay Area's creative music festival held every summer in San Francisco.

"He plays as the dignified giant when blowing a melody with a bright and glossy sound, but when the solo comes the screw turns flying in multiple directions."
- Takeshi Goda, A Challenge to Fate, Japan

"Romus turned out to be, besides a very adept improviser, also a high quality composer. His songs were full of abundant ideas avoiding the easy clichéd “theme/solos/theme” formats." - Jussi Niemi, Tampere Aamulehti, Finland

"Alto saxophonist, one of the more consistently interesting figures of recent years..." - Tom Hull, USA

"Romus has a bold sound, unmistakable sincerity and conviction."
- Downbeat, USA

Other Web links
Outsound Presents
Edgetone Records
All Music Guide
Wikipedia