Pete Robbins
Encyclopedia
Pete Robbins is a professional American jazz
saxophonist
and composer
living in Brooklyn
. He records for the Barcelona-based label Fresh Sound New Talent.
He was born in Andover, Massachusetts
and graduated from Phillips Academy
in 1997. In 2002, he graduated from the New England Conservatory and Tufts University
and relocated to Brooklyn, NY in September 2002.
He currently leads three groups: CENTRIC (w/ Sam Sadigursky
, Eliot Cardinaux, Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss); sILENT Z (w/ Jesse Neuman, Mike Gamble, Thomas Morgan, Tyshawn Sorey); and the PETE ROBBINS / MARIO PAVONE / TYSHAWN SOREY TRIO. These groups regularly play around New York at venues such as 55 Bar, Cornelia Street Café, Detour, Bowery Poetry
Club, and The Tea Lounge. They have also toured around the East Coast and Europe, with yearly appearances at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival (2006, 2007, 2008).
In 2004, Robbins curated a series of concerts at New York’s Cornelia Street Café, on behalf of the organization Music For America, dedicated to building political awareness and exposing the hypocrisy of Bush administration policies. Musicians including Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, Rodney Green and John O’Gallagher shared a bill with Robbins’ own band and the series was the featured in the Village Voice’s 2004 fall preview issue.
His work as a composer and bandleader recently earned him a 2006 Chamber Music America composition grant. As part of this grant, Robbins was commissioned to adapt three compositions by the Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
living in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. He records for the Barcelona-based label Fresh Sound New Talent.
He was born in Andover, Massachusetts
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
and graduated from Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
in 1997. In 2002, he graduated from the New England Conservatory and Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
and relocated to Brooklyn, NY in September 2002.
He currently leads three groups: CENTRIC (w/ Sam Sadigursky
Sam Sadigursky
Sam Sadigursky is a saxophonist, multi-reedist, and composer currently residing in Brooklyn, New York. Sam studied jazz at William Paterson University, and has played with the Mingus Orchestra, Gabrial Kahane, Darcy James Argue, Ray Brown, and Brad Mehldau...
, Eliot Cardinaux, Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss); sILENT Z (w/ Jesse Neuman, Mike Gamble, Thomas Morgan, Tyshawn Sorey); and the PETE ROBBINS / MARIO PAVONE / TYSHAWN SOREY TRIO. These groups regularly play around New York at venues such as 55 Bar, Cornelia Street Café, Detour, Bowery Poetry
Club, and The Tea Lounge. They have also toured around the East Coast and Europe, with yearly appearances at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival (2006, 2007, 2008).
In 2004, Robbins curated a series of concerts at New York’s Cornelia Street Café, on behalf of the organization Music For America, dedicated to building political awareness and exposing the hypocrisy of Bush administration policies. Musicians including Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, Rodney Green and John O’Gallagher shared a bill with Robbins’ own band and the series was the featured in the Village Voice’s 2004 fall preview issue.
His work as a composer and bandleader recently earned him a 2006 Chamber Music America composition grant. As part of this grant, Robbins was commissioned to adapt three compositions by the Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo.
Discography
| Title | |Year of Release | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Do the Hate Laugh Shimmy | 2008 | Fresh Sound New Talent | ||
| Waits and Measures | 2006 | Playscape | ||
| Centric | 2002 | Telepathy | ||