Jazz Articles about Herb Robertson

100nka and Herb Robertson: Superdesert

by Robert Iannapollo
January 12, 2010

Herb Robertson has to be one of the most intrepid trumpeters around. He seems to be most willing to put himself in anomalous situations: the two-trumpet group he shares with Dave Ballou (MacroQuarktet), work as a sideman in various groups, membership in ad hoc assemblies like a trio with Evan Parker and Agustí Fernández or guesting with Pierre Dørge's New Jungle Orchestra. On Superdesert, Robertson collaborates with the Polish trio 100nka. This reviewer was unfamiliar with 100nka ...

Herb Robertson / Mark Solborg: [NOD]

by Martin Longley
December 3, 2009

In 2008, Danish guitarist Mark Solborg invited New Jersey trumpeter Herb Robertson to join his quartet. Around the same time, they laid down the tracks for this duo set in Copenhagen. Although Robertson can boast much more of a substantial history within the global sweep of jazz improvisation, this meeting possesses a strong sense of egalitarianism, where Solborg's contribution stands on an equal level. It seems as though Robert Louis Stevenson's poem “The Land Of Nod" had a significant influence ...

100nka and Herb Robertson: Superdesert

by Jerry D'Souza
November 27, 2009

How much shit can one take? Well that depends. If it is being served by the quirky Polish trio 100nka--featuring guitarist Tomek Leś, bassist Adam Stodolski and percussionist Przemek Borowiecki--there may not be quite enough. Their music is rather undefinable, jumping and sneaking as it does into odd nooks and crannies. Much of it comes from being inquisitive; some of it has to do with the men who influenced them, including John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Drew Gress, Ellery ...

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). ...