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Robin Eubanks

Robin Eubanks is the premier jazz trombonist of his generation. Whether performing with his groups, EB3 or Mental Images, or with the critically acclaimed Dave Holland Quintet and Big Band—with whom he was an original member- Robin is an artist whose impact on audiences has proven powerful and lasting. Robin has recorded seven albums as a leader featuring his original music. Robin was born to a very musical family: His brother, Kevin Eubanks, is the music director for The Tonight Show and another brother, Duane, plays trumpet in New York. Their mother has been a music educator for more than 30 years; and their Uncle Ray Bryant is a prominent jazz pianist in his own right. Robin began studying music at the age of eight and continued through college, when he graduated cum laud from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. As a student, he studied not only trombone, but also the finer points of Theory, Harmony, Composition and Arranging. Following his graduation, the young trombonist moved to New York City where he began a career that has since yielded an amazing array of collaborations with such notable artists as Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Eddie Palmieri, Sun Ra, Barbra Streisand, The Rolling Stones and Talking Heads—just to name a few. He's won Grammys for his performances on Michael Brecker's Wide Angles and Dave Holland's What Goes Around. For the last several years, Robin has divided his rigorous performing schedule with an appointment at The Oberlin College Conservatory where he serves as a tenured Professor of Jazz Trombone. In 2002, he won a compositional grant from Chamber Music America, followed by an ASCAP Composer's grant in 2003. Other musical groups now commission him as a composer, and as with his performing career, his compositional interests are staggeringly diverse. Musically fluent, but also stylistically multilingual, the eclectic composer speaks a variety of musical "languages". How does he do it? The key appears to be a combination of having a complete command of his craft, but also an innate gift that can sound like a combination of math and magic. To hear him explain it: "My compositions can change fluidly from Swing to Funk to Latin to 11/8 or 7/4, without sounding forced or awkward. This allows me to draw upon all of my experiences. I have the freedom to create forms that unite diverse influences into new structures that are organic." However it's done, in addition to his own recordings, his compositions can be heard on several Dave Holland Quintet and Big Band recordings.

Bill Bruford: The Summerfold Collection 1987-2008

by John Kelman
September 2, 2023

Intrepid percussionist/composer/bandleader Bill Bruford began his career in the late '60s art-rock arena with Yes and, later, King Crimson, but jazz has always moved underneath, like an eddying current. His early recordings, well documented on the companion Winterfold Collection, may not speak the language of jazz, but they possess its spirit. By 1986, Bruford was looking for a new path. Crimson had again dissolved, the 1981-'84 incarnation having provided him with the opportunity to explore nascent electronic drum ...

In Pictures

Robin Eubanks with the John Toomey Trio at the Attucks Jazz Club

by Mark Robbins
February 28, 2023

Robin Eubanks was scheduled to play The Attucks Jazz Club in jny:Norfolk 2 years ago but was upended by the Covid shutdown. He was finally able to appear with John Toomey on piano, Jimmy Masters on bass and Brian Jones on drums, and the wait was well worth it. Eubanks brother Kevin Eubanks was the musical director for the Tonight Show, brother Duane Eubanks is a renowned trumpet player, their mother, Vera, was a music educator, while their uncle Ray ...

Album Review

Dr. Lonnie Smith: Breathe

Read "Breathe" reviewed by La-Faithia White

by La-Faithia White
May 15, 2021

Dr. Lonnie Smith, guru of the Hammond B3 organ for over five decades, now releases eight songs, six of which were recorded live in 2017 at The Jazz Standard in New York City, during his seventy-fifth birthday. In December 2020, The Jazz Standard closed because of the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic which has taken the lives of many jazz clubs throughout the USA. The opening song, “Why Can't We Live Together," is a remake of the 1972 ...

Album Review

Dr. Lonnie Smith: Breathe

Read "Breathe" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
March 24, 2021

Nel nuovo album di Dr.Lonnie Smith, appena uscito per la Blue Note, non c'è solo il traboccante groove del suo trio. Per il 75mo compleanno dell'organista Hammond, il produttore Don Was ha fatto le cose in grande, pubblicando la registrazione di una una serata allo Jazz Standard (a New York nel 2017) con un organico strumentale con nomi illustri, come il trombonista Robin Eubanks e la cantante Alicia Olatuja. Piuttosto insolita, ma riuscitissima, risulta poi la collaborazione ripresa in studio ...

Album Review

Edward Simon: 25 Years

Read "25 Years" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
March 11, 2021

Al pubblico del jazz non piacciono molto le compilations ma questa del pianista Edward Simon è speciale. I diciassette brani del doppio CD sono stati scelti da lui--come bilancio e riflessione personale nel 25° anno della sua attività da leader--e forniscono una variopinta retrospettiva delle sue tappe musicali. «L'idea mi è venuta l'anno scorso (2019) quando ho compito 50 anni--ha detto al Columbia Daily Tribune--La raccolta è nata da uno spirito di celebrazione e dalla consapevolezza di quante cose siano ...

Album Review

Edward Simon: 25 Years

Read "25 Years" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
September 29, 2020

Pianist Edward Simon immigrated to the United States from his native Venezuela while still in his teens. He stayed, and carved out a successful career in music. His fiftieth birthday rolled around, and the artist decided it was time to take a look and listen back. In a musical journey that spans the titular 25 Years, Simon has crafted a lot of music, employing a Latin/jazz/classical approach with a seemingly effortless refinement, making sounds that are unfailingly engaging and beautiful. ...

Album Review

Ralph Peterson & the Messenger Legacy: Onward & Upward

Read "Onward & Upward" reviewed by Paul Rauch

by Paul Rauch
August 8, 2020

Generally speaking, legacy bands are created to preserve the music of an artist. They feature innovative interpretations of an artist's compositions or past performances to share with future generations of listeners. In the case of drummer Ralph Peterson, his ambitious efforts to honor the continuum of his mentor Art Blakey are forward thinking, about a collective gathering of resources that stress creative thought and individuality. Just as the true legacy of the Jazz Messengers portends, contributors are charged with replenishing ...

Education

Music Education Monday: Jazz trombone tips from Robin Eubanks, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
July 18, 2016

This week for Music Education Monday, here's a grab-bag of material of interest to trombonists, including a video in which Robin Eubanks talks about “music, jazz, and developing as a musician." The brother of guitarist Kevin Eubanks and trumpeter Duane Eubanks, Robin Eubanks probably is best known for his work with bassist Dave Holland and as a member of the SFJAZZ Collective, but he's also released nine albums as a bandleader, the most recent of which is 2014's kLassik RocK ...
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Recording

Trombonist Robin Eubanks Releases "More Than Meets The Ear," A Groundbreaking Big Band Album By Eubank’s Mass Line Big Band Out November 27, 2015

Source: Fully Altered Media
September 4, 2015

Multiple DownBeat critics poll winner and electric trombone pioneer Robin Eubanks has covered vast terrain in the course of a 30-plus-year career, but until this year he’d never made a big band album. That changes with the release of More than Meets the Ear (ArtistShare), a groundbreaking collection of Eubanks’ muscular, interwoven compositions. And it introduces his new, all-star ensemble, the Robin Eubanks Mass Line Big Band. For those who are less familiar with Eubanks’ body of work, this album ...
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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Robin Eubanks

Source: Michael Ricci
October 25, 2009

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Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Robin Eubanks

Source: Michael Ricci
October 25, 2008

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Performance / Tour

Robin Eubanks and EB3 to Perform on Jazz at Bucknell Series

Source: All About Jazz
September 23, 2008

Jazz at Bucknell will host a performance by Robin Eubanks and EB3 on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 8:30 p.m. in Bucknell Hall. The performance is free to the public as part of Bucknell University's ongoing Jazz at Bucknell First Wednesdays series. Eubanks, on trombone, electric trombone, percussion and loops, will be joined by Sam Barsh, keyboards and bass lines, and Kenwood Denard, drums and bass lines. Considered the premier jazz trombonist of his generation, Eubanks has recorded seven albums as ...
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Festival

Grammy Award-Winning Robin Eubanks Brings Commanding Flavor, Style to Idlewild

Source: JazzStage Productions
June 3, 2008

Much like the genre it celebrates, the 2008 Idlewild Jazz Festival embraces an array of eras, artists and melodic styles. Slated for Saturday, Aug. 2, in Idlewild, Mich., from 1:30 - 9:30 p.m., this year's event remains true to its eclectic tradition, synthesizing established and emerging musicians into an ear-pleasing day long line up. Festival acts range from big band to fusion, providing enough versatility to suit the breadth of any jazz enthusiast's eight-track/LP/CD collection. Leading this year's Idlewild Jazz ...
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Festival

Robin Eubanks Joins SF Jazz Collective; International Tour Kicks Off February 15

Source: Marshall Lamm Promotions & Public Relations
January 10, 2008

SFJAZZ ANNOUNCES NEW 'COLLECTIVE' LINE-UP FOR SPRING 2008: TROMBONIST ROBIN EUBANKS JOINS ALL-STAR OCTET IN SEASON DEVOTED TO REPERTOIRE OF WAYNE SHORTER, NEW COMPOSITIONS BY COLLECTIVE MEMBERS

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SFJAZZ, the leading non-profit jazz institution on the West Coast and the presenter of the San Francisco Jazz Festival, has announced the Spring 2008 touring line-up of its all-star octet, the SFJAZZ Collective. Named “Rising Star Jazz Band of the Year" in Down Beat's 2006 International Critics Poll, the ...
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Interview

Trombonist Robin Eubanks Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz
November 12, 2007

Robin Eubanks is only one member of a notoriously musical Philadelphia family--you're probably familiar with some of his brothers--and was playing trombone at a tender age. He moved to New York City after graduating from the Philly-based University of the Arts, has collaborated with an enormous range of musicians and was a prominent participant in the 1980s M-Base movement most associated with Greg Osby and Steve Coleman.

If you attend jazz concerts with any regularity, you've almost certainly gone to ...
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Event

Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin, & Wood), Robin Eubanks, and Daniel Bennett Group Play Boston on December 7

Source: Bennett Alliance
October 15, 2007

The Bennett Alliance in Boston is very busy these days. The production company, run by “avante-folk" saxophonist Daniel Bennett, promotes the ongoing Bennett Alliance Concert Series at the restored Cambridge YMCA Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On December 7, the fourth installment of the Bennett Alliance Concert Series will feature world-renowned drummer Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin, & Wood), trombonist Robin Eubanks (Dave Holland Band), and saxophonist Daniel Bennett. The Boston jazz scene has been buzzing about this unique show. Billy Martin ...
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Event