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Jazz Articles about Troy Roberts
Silvano Monasterios: The River
by Jack Bowers
To enhance his musical excursion along The River, composer, arranger and pianist Silvano Monasterios invited eight talented companions on board to share the ride. He did not make it easy for them. As envisioned by Monasterios, this river is by turns placid or turbulent, sparse or overflowing--but invariably tricky to navigate and tame. The entire work, he writes, is “a suite of what I consider Venezuelan music," and was inspired by the people in his native land ...
Continue ReadingJackson Potter: small things
by Kyle Simpler
When musicians who are both skilled at their craft and passionate about what they play come together, it translates clearly into their music. Such is the case with Jackson Potter's sophomore release, Small Things. This is an engaging and well-crafted collection that highlights his compositional skills along with his fluency in contemporary jazz guitar. With a sound that captures the lyrical fluidity of Jim Hall and the swinging clarity of Herb Ellis, Potter strikes a compelling balance between tradition and ...
Continue ReadingRobby Ameen: Live at the Poster Museum
by Jack Bowers
Unlike some drummer-led albums, wherein it is hard to determine who is actually piloting the ship, there are no doubts about who is in charge on Live at the Poster Museum--and that would be none other than Robby Ameen whose sharp and forceful timekeeping enlivens the heart and soul of every number, lending them a sizable measure of their exuberance and swagger. That is especially meaningful considering that Ameen is traveling in fast company, overseeing a burnished ...
Continue ReadingJackson Potter: small things
by Dan Bilawsky
Grandiose gestures are well and good, but it's actually the small things, both independent and aggregated, that often prove most impactful. Those micro events or occurrences can lead to serious matters or link together to create an incredibly meaningful web of wonders at the macro level. That's a fact that Jackson Potter most certainly recognizes. For this, his sophomore date, the Minnesota-reared, New York-based guitarist demonstrates remarkable maturity and attention to detail while weaving together a smartly balanced program with ...
Continue ReadingRobby Ameen: Live at the Poster Museum
by Paul Rauch
There are pluses and minuses to all recordings, the attributes stacking up like cordwood due to the virtuosity of the musicians, the compositional value of the tunes and the basic, primary aim of the leader. In this case, the leader, virtuoso drummer Robby Ameen, blurs the line between Afro-Caribbean rhythms and swinging post bop jazz. His music mentions in a way, that the divisions we may see between the different elements of the music that became modern jazz in New ...
Continue ReadingGreen Means Go!
by David Bixler
The colors black, white, brown, beige, and blue have all had a prominent place in music, but in the eyes and ears of saxophonist Troy Roberts the color green piqued his interest due to its ambiguity. Not only can the color green convey greed and envy or rot and decay, it can also represent nature and tranquility. Troy embraces green as an impetus to move and has named his new release Green Lights which is the subject of the first ...
Continue ReadingTroy Roberts: Green Lights
by Jack Bowers
There is an abundance of listenable music on Green Lights, the album from New York-based tenor saxophonist Troy Roberts--his sixteenth as leader in sixteen years. Clearly, he must be doing something right. That “something" includes playing graceful and eloquent tenor, mustering admirable sidemen for this quartet date, and focusing on largely agreeable music (Roberts wrote all of the album's ten generally likable songs). The sidemen in question are guitarist Paul Bollenback, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Jimmy ...
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