Jazz Articles about Herb Robertson

The MacroQuarktet: Each Part a Whole: Live at the Stone

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
October 12, 2009

Pushing the boundaries of spontaneous expression, one of trumpeter Herb Robertson's latest projects is the MacroQuarktet with fellow trumpeter Dave Ballou and the formidable rhythm tandem of bassist Drew Gress and drummer Tom Rainey. Eschewing a blitzkrieg approach, the three improvisations on Each Part a Whole exude deliberative patience with ideas tested and developed into longer narrative arcs. Both trumpeters make imaginative use of mutes, other valve instruments (flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet, cornet) and found objects (electric megaphones, ...

Herb Robertson: Abandon in the Moment

by Sean Patrick Fitzell
March 25, 2009

Amid a whorl of scraped cello, tenor sax squawks, and bass clarinet blats, trumpeter Herb Robertson paused, his eyes closed in concentration. With NSA-like hearing ability, he pierced the action with a bracing note that crystallized the unfurling improvisation. The intent listening and bold responses displayed during saxophonist Lotte Anker's January show at The Stone typify Robertson's commitment to playing in the moment.

“Once I start improvising I just can't think about other things," Robertson says. ...

The MacroQuarktet: Each Part a Whole: Live at the Stone

by Glenn Astarita
March 18, 2009

The MacroQuarktet features a crème de la crème of New York's progressive jazz and improvisational contingent, although the respective instrumentalists know no bounds due to variable stints with like-minded artists across the globe. Recorded live at the Manhattan venue The Stone, the quartet--or, wittily cited as the Quarktet--casts an impressionistic aura into the rather expansive connotations of jazz-centric improvisation on Each Part a Whole. The musicians subdivide the performance into three extended works, teeming with polytonal resonance amid a surprising ...

Herb Robertson: Real Aberration & The Perfume Comes Before The Flower

by Martin Longley
April 6, 2008

Herb Robertson NY Downtown Allstars Real Aberration Clean Feed 2007 Alípio C Neto Quartet The Perfume Comes Before the Flower Clean Feed 2007 Year

Trumpeter Herb Robertson's NY Downtown Allstars is a band of bandleaders: Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Sylvie Courvoisier (piano), Mark Dresser (bass) and Tom Rainey (drums). ...

Alìpio C Neto: The Perfume Comes Before the Flower

by AAJ Italy Staff
February 15, 2008

Ecco un ennesimo cd, bello anche se non innovativo, che propone un free sano, consapevole, ben strutturato, confermando la persistenza e l'attualità di questo movimento in ogni angolo del mondo. Tipicamente free (nel senso strutturale del free jazz storico) sono le composizioni del leader ed il modo in cui esse si traducono nelle improvvisazioni, motivandole. In un brano come “The Flower - Aboio" si avverte l'influenza del mondo poetico di Ayler, con l'archetto di Filiano che ricorda molto le sonorità ...

Herb Robertson NY Downtown Allstars: Real Aberration

by AAJ Italy Staff
December 18, 2007

Sebbene sia probabilmente efficace dal punto di vista dell'impatto comunicativo e corrisponda certamente a verità, la definizione di NY Downtown Allstars va un po' stretta a questo quintetto guidato dal trombettista Herb Robertson. Quasi una formula che si applica a circostanze fortunate e estemporanee di collaborazione tra navigati jazzisti, il nome diventa stretto quando si consideri che il lavoro del quintetto sta crescendo in direzioni tutt'altro che casuali, benché nel solco dell'improvvisazione più libera. Al suo secondo disco infatti, registrato ...

Herb Robertson Trio + Marcin Ole? and Bartlomiej Brat Ole?: Live at Alchemia

by Jerry D'Souza
October 11, 2007

When Herb Robertson went into the Alchemia Club in Krakow, Poland on March 13, 2006 with Frank Gratkowski and Julian Petit to record the show, he had just the right rhythm section in twins Marcin Oles and Bartlomiej Brat Oles. All five have marked their presence as innovators. They take an idea, fertilize and expound it, and shape it into an extraordinary body, pacing it at their own instinct. As they pause and push, using space and density to work ...