Pete Robbins (age 35) moved to New York in September, 2002, and immediately became “a welcome presence on the creative music scene” (Time Out New York). He has since performed or recorded with Vijay Iyer, John Hollenbeck, John Zorn, Craig Taborn, Mark Dresser, Ben Monder, Mario Pavone, Kenny Wollesen, Tyshawn Sorey, Dan Weiss, Thomas Morgan, and countless others, and has performed at festivals and clubs in nine different countries. Robbins’ leads “an ambitious ensemble that combines spacious avant-gardism with the melodic punch of rock” (New York Times), and has been called a "style master" (AllAboutJazz.com), "fiercely creative" (Time Out New York), and "a real force" in jazz (pianist Paul Bley). His studio releases “Waits and Measures” (Playscape) and “Do The Hate Laugh Shimmy” (Fresh Sound/New Talent) were both named as top-10 jazz releases in 2006 and 2008, respectively; Robbins's fourth album as a bandleader will be released on May 25, 2010 on his own Hate Laugh Music label. Robbins has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, JazzTimes, JazzWise, Jazzman, and National Public Radio.
Awards
For his compositional achievements, Chamber Music America
recently awarded Robbins with their prestigious “New Works:
Creation and Presentation” grant as well as their "New
Works: Encore" award on behalf of the Doris Duke Charitable
Foundation. Robbins has also been a guest adjudicator for
the Brooklyn Arts Council, acts as Managing Director at the
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and works with various
organizations in a music education capacity.
Album Review
Interview
Album Review
Read more articles
May 16, 2014
Enter the "Pete Robbins - Pyramid" Giveaway at All About Jazz!
November 28, 2012
Jazz Musician of the Day: Pete Robbins
January 31, 2012
Pete Robbins Transatlantic Quartet - Live in Basel (2012)
November 28, 2011
Jazz Musician of the Day: Pete Robbins
December 10, 2010
Pete Robbins - Silent Z Live (2010)
November 28, 2010
Jazz Musician of the Day: Pete Robbins
August 15, 2010
Saxophonist Pete Robbins Interviewed at All About Jazz
June 04, 2010
Pete Robbins - Silent Z Live (Hate Laugh Music)
April 08, 2010
Pete Robbins' Silent Z Live to be Released May 25 on Hate Laugh Music
November 28, 2009
Jazz Musician of the Day: Pete Robbins
“Mr. Robbins, an industrious and venturesome alto
saxophonist and clarinetist, leads...an ambitious ensemble
that combines spacious avant-gardism with the melodic punch
of rock...[He has] a cool tone and a thoughtfully off kilter
sensibility.…[C]omplex but welcoming... Mr. Robbins plays
with coolness as well as confidence. ...[H]is compositions
seem to breathe according to some collective whim."
(Nate Chinen, New York Times)
"No doubt, Robbins’ third solo outing looms as a logical
progression of his spiraling notoriety within global jazz
circles....A compelling and irrefutably, entertaining
effort...Robbins should win over a horde of admirers with
this outing, which conveys asymmetrical parts chops, gusto,
funk, fusion and a clear-sighted view of the jazz canon
Read more
“Mr. Robbins, an industrious and venturesome alto
saxophonist and clarinetist, leads...an ambitious ensemble
that combines spacious avant-gardism with the melodic punch
of rock...[He has] a cool tone and a thoughtfully off kilter
sensibility.…[C]omplex but welcoming... Mr. Robbins plays
with coolness as well as confidence. ...[H]is compositions
seem to breathe according to some collective whim."
(Nate Chinen, New York Times)
"No doubt, Robbins’ third solo outing looms as a logical
progression of his spiraling notoriety within global jazz
circles....A compelling and irrefutably, entertaining
effort...Robbins should win over a horde of admirers with
this outing, which conveys asymmetrical parts chops, gusto,
funk, fusion and a clear-sighted view of the jazz canon. ...
Simply stated, Robbins is a style master who sets himself
apart from many of his peers. " (Glen Astarita,
AllAboutJazz.com / JazzReview.com)
"Several of Robbins' tunes are flag-wavers, teeming with
broad, catchy melodies. That's at odds with the very
intricate lines thread together to create such themes, and
that dynamic is why [his music] is so intriguing....As a
horn player, Robbins has liquid timbre that can remind just
how pretty modern jazz can be." (Jim Macnie - The Village
Voice, The Providence Phoenix)
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Primary Instrument
Saxophone, alto
Willing to teach
Advanced only
Credentials/Background
Managing Director, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music (bqcm.org)
Clinic/Workshop Information
leads workshops across the US and Europe on contemporary
improvisation and composition