Introduction
Scott Robinson (born April 27, 1959 Pompton Plains, New Jersey) is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist. Robinson is best known for his work on various styles of saxophone, but he has also performed on clarinet, flute, trumpet, sarrusophone, and other, more obscure instruments.
Music career
The son of a piano teacher and a senior book editor for the National Geographic Society, Robinson graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1981. The next year, he joined the college's staff, becoming its youngest faculty member.
Robinson has appeared on more than 200 LP and CD releases, including eleven under his leadership, with musicians Lionel Hampton, Anthony Braxton, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Ella Fitzgerald, Paquito D'Rivera, Sting, Maria Schneider, Elton John, Buck Clayton, and the New York City Opera. Two of these recordings won a Grammy Award. He has received four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.
In 2000, the U.S. State Department named him a jazz ambassador for the year 2001, funding a tour of West Africa in which he played the early works of Louis Armstrong. Material from these appearances was released on the album Jazz Ambassador: Scott Robinson Plays the Compositions of Louis Armstrong by Arbors Records.
Throughout his career, Robinson has worked to keep unusual and obscure instruments in the public view. For example, he has recorded an album featuring the C-melody saxophone and performs with the ophicleide. He also owns and records with a vintage contrabass saxophone, so rare that fewer than twenty in playable condition are known to exist.
Since 2009, he has operated his own record label, ScienSonic Laboratories.
Instruments
Robinson has been credited for recording with acoustic guitar, alto clarinet, alto flute, alto saxophone, bamboo flute, baritone saxophone, barrel drum, bass clarinet, bass saxophone, C melody saxophone, chinese cymbals, slapstick, chinese gong, conch shell, contrabass clarinet, contrabass, cornet, double bass, drums, E-flat clarinet, egg shaker, ektara, euphonium, flugelhorn, flute, frame drum, french horn, gong, Hammond organ, hi-hat, keyboards, mezzo-soprano saxophone, navajo flute, ophicleide, pennywhistle, shaker, sarrusophone, slide saxophone, sopranino saxophone, soprano saxophone, tambourine, tamtam, tárogató, tenor saxophone, theremin, timpani, trumpet, vocals, waterphone, and wind machine.
Select discography
As leader/co-leader
- Multiple Instruments (Multijazz, 1984)
- Winds of Change (Multijazz, 1990)
- Magic Eye (Bliss, 1993)
- Thinking Big (Arbors, 1997)
- Melody from the Sky (Arbors, 2000)
- Summertime (Cube Bohemia, 2004)
- Jazz Ambassador (Arbors, 2004)
- Forever Lasting (Arbors, 2008)
- Live at Space Farms (ScienSonic, 2010)
- Nucleus (ScienSonic, 2010)
- Bronze Nemesis (Doc-tone/ScienSonic, 2012)
- Snakeheads & Ladybugs (Tall Grass, 2014)
- The Tuba Trio Chronicles (Joda, 2015)
- Three Story Sandbox (Tall Grass, 2016)
As sideman/guest
With Randy Sandke
- 1990 Stampede
- 1993 The Bix Beiderbecke Era
- 1994 Chase
- 1995 Calling All Cats
- 2000 Re-Discovered Louis & Bix
- 2002 Randy Sandke Meets Bix Beiderbecke
- 2002 Inside Out
- 2005 Outside In
With John Pizzarelli
- 1991 All of Me
- 1993 Naturally
- 1994 New Standards
- 1997 Our Love Is Here to Stay
With Marty Grosz
- 1994 Keep a Song in Your Soul
- 1996 The Rhythm for Sale
- 2005 Chasin' the Spots
- 2006 Marty Grosz and His Hot Combination
- 2009 Hot Winds: The Classic Sessions
- 2012 The James P. Johnson Songbook
With Keith Ingham
- 1994 The Keith Ingham New York 9, Vol. 1
- 1994 The Keith Ingham New York 9, Vol. 2
- 1998 A Mellow Bit of Rhythm
- 1999 A Star Dust Melody
- 2001 Keith Ingham New York 9, Vol. 3
With Maria Schneider
- 1992 Evanescence
- 1995 Coming About
- 2000 Allegresse
- 2004 Concert in the Garden
- 2013 Winter Morning Walks
- 2015 The Thompson Fields
With John Fedchock
- 1992 New York Big Band
- 1998 On the Edge
- 2002 No Nonsense
With Ruby Braff
- 1997 Ruby Braff Remembers Louis Armstrong: Being With You
- 2002 Variety Is the Spice of Braff
- 2010 Our Love Is Here to Stay
With John Sheridan
- 2005 Easy as It Gets
- 2007 Swing Is Still the King
- 2010 Hooray for Christmas!
With Frank Mantooth
- 1989 Suite Tooth
- 1993 Dangerous Precedent
- 1999 Miracle
With Bob Mintzer
- 1990 The Art of the Big Band
- 2000 Homage to Count Basie
- 2006 Old School New Lessons
With others
- 1985 Live at Chan's, Rebecca Parris
- 1993 Saxophone Mosaic, Gary Smulyan
- 1993 Tryin' to Make My Blues Turn Green, Frank Wess
- 1993 What Matters Most, Tom Postilio
- 1994 Black Brown & Beige, Louie Bellson
- 1994 Caecilie Norby, Cæcilie Norby
- 1994 I Saw Stars, Rebecca Kilgore
- 1996 Bufadora Blow-Up, Bob Wilber
- 1996 Look What I Found, Daryl Sherman
- 1996 Strings Attached, Peter Ecklund
- 1997 Live at MCG, Paquito D'Rivera
- 1997 Song for My Mother, Walt Weiskopf
- 1999 Last Swing of the Century, Ken Peplowski
- 1999 Joyful Noise: A Tribute to Duke Ellington, Don Sebesky
- 1999 New Works Celebration, Bob Brookmeyer
- 1999 Out of This World, Loren Schoenberg
- 2000 Being a Bear: Jazz for the Whole Family, Dan Barrett
- 2000 Noumena, Frank Kimbrough
- 2000 Sultry Serenade, James Chirillo
- 2001 Ballad Essentials, Carol Sloane
- 2001 Black Dahlia, Bob Belden
- 2001 Dear Louis, Nicholas Payton
- 2001 Group Therapy, Jim McNeely
- 2001 L' Instant d'Apres, David Linx
- 2001 Play It Cool, Lea DeLaria
- 2001 Sweet & Lowdown, Dave Van Ronk
- 2003 On This Day at the Vanguard, Joe Lovano
- 2006 Tiger by the Tail, George Gruntz
- 2011 Ron Carter's Great Big Band, Ron Carter
- 2013 Joyride, Cynthia Sayer
- 2014 Nothing Has Changed, David Bowie
- 2014 Quiet Pride: The Elizabeth Catlett Project, Rufus Reid