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Trombone master Robin Eubanks at the Iowa City Jazz Festival 7/1 |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Monday, 19 June 2006 |
 Robin Eubanks © Don Berryman
Robin Eubanks, the premier jazz trombonist of his generation,
will perform with the U of I Facutly Jazz Ensemble at the Iowa City
Jazz Festival at 4:00 PM on July 1st. The Iowa City Jazz Festival is a
free anual event that this year will also feature B3 organist Mel Rhyne, pianist Geoffery
Keezer, the Bad Plus and the Mingus Dynasty band among others.
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 Eubanks 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.
The Mingus Big Band has also recorded his arrangements. Colleges and
universities throughout the United States are performing Robin's
original works and have arranged his music for their ensembles.
Other notable commissions include: Cause and Effect, which had its
world premier with the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra in 2003; string
and horn arrangements for Freddie Cole's recording, This Is Always;
Cross Currents for the late great JJ Johnson's Grammy nominated
recording, The Brass Orchestra; and an arrangement of Genesis for McCoy
Tyner's Big Band.
And if that were not enough, in the intervening years Robin has become
not only an eminent musician, composer and performer, but also a
popular lecturer and clinician at leading educational institutions
throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Iowa City is located off Interstate 80, just east of
I-380, in eastern Iowa. More information about the festival can be
found at
www.iowacityjazzfestival.com.
Stay tuned to Jazz Police for more details!
Iowa City Jazz Festival Schedule
2006 Line-up Main Stage: June 30th - July 2nd
Friday June 30th
- 6:30 p.m. - United Jazz Ensemble
- 7:30 p.m. - Orquesta Alto Maiz
Saturday July 1st
- 2:00 p.m. - South Shore Youth Jezz
Ensemble
- 4:00 p.m. - U of I Facutly Jazz Ensemble
w/ Robin Eubanks
- 6:00 p.m. - Mel Rhyne Trio
- 8:00 p.m. - Immediate Left feat.
Tim Hagans and Scott Kinsey
- 10:00 p.m. - Bad Plus
Sunday July 2nd
- 12:00 p.m. - Bob Dorr and the Blue
Band
- 2:00 p.m. - Rachael Price
- 4:00 p.m. - Andy Milne and Dapp
Theory
- 6:00 p.m. - Geoffery Keezer Trio
- 8:00 p.m. - Mingus Dynasty
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 Sunday, 12 October 2008
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