Anybody Heard Of Billy Robinson?

[JSngry]

Tenor player from Houston, relocated to Canada. A good friend shared some cuts of off two of his albums, and I'm most intrigued - the guy breaks no new ground, yet he sounds absolutely like nobody else. Kind of a Bill Barron-eque type vibe to his playing and writing, yet he sounds nothing like Barron. "Advanced Post-Bop" would be as close to a description as I can muster based on what I've heard so far. Can't find his albums for sale online, but haven't yet checked w/Cadence. Desperately want to "do the right thing" and buy them legit if at all possible/feasable.

Any information on this guy and his recordings would be greatly appreciated. He's the kind of "unknown local heavyweight" that I really enjoy discovering, somebody who's at once "in the tradition" yet totally idiosyncratic. One thing's for sure - there's MEAT in this guy's music!

So, anybody heard of Billy Robinson?

[relyles]

Jim,

Both Doubt Dropping and A Short Turn to the Future are available from Cadence. I also read about a recording from the seventies titled, Evolution's Blend that may be worth seeking out.

I also heard the sampler that Jim mentioned and will be ordering both of his recent recordings very soon. I think Jim's assessment is pretty accurrate. My only addition would be that I sensed a certain urgency to his playing that I find very appealing.

I had found some additional information on the internet about Robinson that I will try to post later.

[relyles]

From an internet announcement regarding a workshop to be conducted in Canada by Robinson:

Billy Robinson belongs to a breed of saxophonists known as "Texas Tenors" for their clear, powerful and exhilarating sound. Born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1939, his jazz roots go back to his father's nightclub where he played boogie-woogie piano as a child, and watched the adult musicians perform. By age 16 his professional career as a tenor saxophonist was firmly established. In 1964 Billy moved to San Francisco where he met with Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard and Ornette Coleman, all of whom encouraged him to move to New York City, which he did in 1969. That same year he was hired by Charles Mingus with whom he toured for one year. Amongst the other great musicians Robinson performed with were Freddie Hubbard, "Philly" Joe Jones, Woody Shaw, John Hicks, Wilbur Ware, Jimmy Garrison, Billy Hart, Archie Shepp and Julius Hemphill. In the early 1970's, Billy Robinson moved to Montreal where he recorded his first album, "Evolution's Blend". In recent years he has recorded two CDs, "Doubt Dropping" and "A short Turn to the Future" featuring his latest group, Reference Four Jazz Ensemble.

Edited April 28, 2004 by relyles

[dova]

Hello: I just bought Doubt Dropping at a used cd store. I like Billy's playing as he sounds like he is making a statement or carrying on a conversation as he plays. The cd is like no others I have which is saying something. I'm trying to talk myself into buying Archie Shepps Attica Blues. I have all of Shepp's recommended Impulse Recordings. Anyway, I took a chance when I bought the CD since I didn't know who Robinson was but with no barcode on the CD and recorded in Canada as a quartet, I couldn't resist. Does anyone have the othe cd on Tocma records from 1998?

[relyles]

I do have the 1998 disc. I will have to pull it out and give it a listen.

[flat5]

Interesting to see this thread. I lived in a flat in 1967 one block off Haight-Ashbury that Billy also stayed at.

He could not get real work in San Francisco so he went to New York. He got a job with C. Mingus and their first gig was in...(wait for it)...San Francisco.

Over the years many excellent jazz musicians have lived in the bay area but go somewhere else to work.