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Roosevelt Collier

Soft spoken by nature, South Florida-bred ROOSEVELT COLLIER does his hollering on the pedal steel guitar. Brought up in the "sacred steel" tradition of the House of God Church, Roosevelt built his reputation alongside his uncles and cousins in The Lee Boys, known for their spirited, soul-shaking live performances. Seated front and center, "The Dr." leaves an indelible mark on listeners, flooring audiences with his lightning-fast slide work on the pedal steel.

At festivals, he is a regular "Artist at Large," performing alongside many of music's most prestigious acts, from the Allman Brothers, Tedeschi-Trucks, Los Lobos , the Del McCoury Band and countless others. In 2017, Roosevelt debuted his new project Bokanté - a "World Music All-Star Band" created by Snarky Puppy founder Michael League and featuring the vocals of Malika Tirolien.

As a bandleader, Roosevelt leads his world famous "get-downs" featuring a mixture of "superstars and church folk", his own "Jimi Hendrix Experiment"-style all-star trio, and in 2018 has released the long-awaited Roosevelt Collier debut record, featuring an incredible mixture of blues, gospel, rock, and funk all rolled up by producer and bandmate Michael League.

Fabia Mantwill Orchestra: In.Sight

by Neil Duggan
August 7, 2025

Slow, haunting strings usher listeners into Fabia Mantwill Orchestra's ambitious album In.Sight. This bold statement involves a 32-piece orchestra with six virtuoso soloists, performing compositions co-written by Mantwill, Snarky Puppy's Michael League and Greek composer Magdalini Giannikou. The album opens with “Satoyama," where those melancholic strings gradually bloom into bright melodic passages. The piece moves through a soundscape that weaves together jazz, classical and cinematic drama before Mantwill's expressive tenor saxophone emerges as the leading voice. Each composition ...

Album Review

Bokante: History

by Chris May
June 25, 2023

Snarky Puppy leader Michael League does not like the band being called a jazz ensemble. He describes it as a “a pop band that improvises a lot, without vocals." But anyone listening to jazz through the aural equivalent of a wide-angle lens would likely keep Snarky Puppy in the picture. League's spin-off group Bokante improvises little and has vocals front and centre. The connection with jazz is more tenuous. Bokante could be called a “world music" group ...

Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing Roosevelt Collier

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
June 15, 2019

This week, let's get acquainted via video with steel guitarist Roosevelt Collier, who's coming to St. Louis to perform his first headlining shows here next Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22 at Jazz St. Louis. Collier grew up in Perrine, Florida, near Miami, and began playing music in the House of God Church in his hometown. He developed his “sacred steel” guitar chops performing with the Lee Boys, a family band made up of his uncles and cousins, and ...
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