Representative Albums: "Black Pastels," "Little Motor People," "I'll Always Remember"
Biography
Cellist Hank Roberts is one of the most accomplished jazz improvisers on his instrument, working mostly in the avant-garde and modern creative fields. Roberts was born March 24, 1955, in Terre Haute, IN, and began studying classical cello at age ten; he also experimented with trombone, guitar, and piano in high school. At 19, Roberts attended the Berklee School of Music, where he began to develop an improvisational style that incorporated jazz, blues, folk, and classical music, and often featured double-stops and chord voicings. Roberts didn't enter music professionally until the '80s, when he moved to New York, eventually settling in Ithaca; he made an immediate impression on the downtown N.Y.C. scene, and quickly began playing with Bill Frisell and Tim Berne. Both appeared on his 1987 debut as a leader, Black Pastels (on JMT). In 1989, Roberts joined two different ensembles: Miniature, a freewheeling trio featuring Berne and drummer Joey Baron; and Arcado, a string trio also including violinist Mark Feldman and bassist Mark Dresser. Both released eponymous debuts that year; Miniature recorded three albums before disbanding in 1991, and Arcado issued its sophomore swan song in 1992. Meanwhile, Roberts recorded his second effort as a leader, Birds of Prey, in 1990, and the next year formed his own trio with bassist Peter Chwazik and drummer Bill King. In the middle of the decade, he became a teacher in order to spend more time with his family. However, he returned in 1997 with two sessions: the entirely solo, cello-and-vocal improvisations of 22 Years From Now (recorded in a monastery); and I'll Always Remember, the first CD to feature Roberts' longtime trio. In 1999, Roberts recorded a duo album with Tim Berne called Cause and Reflect, and the following year he performed with the new acoustic string trio Ti Ti Chickapea on their debut A Change of Worlds. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Hank Roberts (born March 24, 1954 in Terre Haute, Indiana) is an American jazzcellist and vocalist. His instrument is electrified, and his style is a mixture of rock, jazz, avant garde, folk and classical influences. He emerged with the downtown New York Jazz scene of the 1980s and is strongly associated with its post-modern tendencies.
Robert Hanks at Jazzhaus Stadtgarten, Köln/Cologne (Germany), March 2008)
Background
In the early '80s he made a number of recordings for the defunct JMT label, and was a featured member of the Bill Frisell Quartet, and was an important voice in many groups of saxophonist Tim Berne. He also recorded three discs with the Arcado String Trio, an improvisational chamber group featuring Mark Feldman, violin, and Mark Dresser, double bass. In the early '90s he left Frisell's group and stopped touring widely. Roberts continued to release recordings, if sporadically, including with the progressive folk group, Ti Ti Chickapea. By 2008 Roberts' was again touring and performing regularly. In late 2008, Roberts and Berne formed the group, Buffalo Collision (with pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer Dave King), and digitally released the recording, Duck, on Berne's Screwgun Records. In January 2009, Buffalo Collision did a fifteen-shows-in-fifteen-nights tour of Europe.
Selected Discography
as Leader
1987 Black Pastels 1990 Birds of Prey 1992 Little Motor People 1997 22 Years from Now 1997 I'll Always Remember 2002 The Truth and Reconciliation Show 2008 Green
with the Arcado String Trio
1989 Arcado 1990 Behind the Myth 1991 For Three Strings and Orchestra
with Miniature
1989 Miniature 1992 I Can't Put My Finger on It
with Bill Frisell
1987 Lookout for Hope 1989 Before We Were Born 1991 Where in the World 2004 Unspeakable 2005 Richter 858 2008 History/Mystery
with Tim Berne
1986 Fulton St. Maul 1988 Sanctified Dreams 1989 Fractured Fairy Tales 1992 Cause and Reflect (duo) 1998 Diminutive Mysteries (mostly Hemphill)
with Marilyn Crispell
1993 Santuerio
with Alex Cline, Aina Kemanis, Jeff Gauthier, Wayne Peet, Eric Essen, and Nels Cline
1987 The Lamp and the Star
with Ti Ti Chicapea
2000 Change of Worlds ???? Firestick
