NEWS

We're hitting the road! My heart resonates most when performing and I'm beyond excited to take the Janus Ensemble on tour this month for a series of concerts in the U.S. Northeast to celebrate of the release of Ancestral Numbers I and Ancestral Numbers II. We kick the tour off in Brooklyn (NY) on October 16, followed by concerts in Amherst (MA), New Haven (CT), Boston/West Roxbury (MA), and Takoma Park (MD/DC-area).

We'll be performing different sets each night of the tour and you'll be able to take home your own copies of the two albums, plus exclusive special items such as the Ancestral Numbers I & II limited edition box set, and the Ancestral Numbers I & II limited edition large-format booklet. Rumor has it that there may be special interactive video at some of the shows featuring the beautiful album and track art from Marcelo Radulovich.

To make my heart sing even more, I'm so happy to be joined on the road by my wonderful collaborators from the albums: trombonist Michael Dessen, pianist Joshua White, bassist Drew Gress, and percussionist Ches Smith. We're lucky to have renowned bassist John Hébert join us in Takoma Park, as Drew won't be with us that day.

Details about my concerts are always available at the tour link on www.jasonrobinson.com. Here are convenient links to each of the concerts on the tour:

Wed Oct 16, IBeam, Brooklyn, NY
Thu Oct 17, The Drake (Jazz Shares), Amherst, MA
Fri Oct 18, Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT
Sat Oct 19, Theodore Parker Unitarian Universalist Church (Mandorla Music), Boston/West Roxbury, MA
Sun Oct 20, Tonal Park Studios, Takoma Park, MD/DC-area

A gorgeous, meticulously curated handmade box set. A one-of-a-kind find for the discerning collector! A sleek LP-sized black box with simple yet stunning gold foil leaf printing contains the CD digipak versions of Ancestral Numbers I and Ancestral Numbers II set in a custom handmade foam insert covered in beautiful red velvet fabric. Also included is the Ancestral Numbers I & II large format (12-inch by 12-inch) limited edition booklet, which includes an extended essay about the project, and a rare 1-inch Ancestral Numbers I & II button. Each set is individually numbered in a limited edition set of 20. A special note from Jason Robinson accompanies each set. Priced below the cost of materials, this is an art piece designed for collectors. Unique and rare!

Released on 8 October 2024, Ancestral Numbers II is the second in a series of two new albums that feature a quintet version of Robinson's Janus Ensemble. Joined by trombonist Michael Dessen, pianist Joshua White, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Ches Smith, Robinson's 20th album continues his evocative sound meditation on family history across time, generations, and locations. Both volumes of Ancestral Numbers are rich with sonic portraits of Robinson’s ancestors that unfold from genealogical discoveries and imagined intergenerational conversations. The album is accompanied by an October 2024 performance tour in the US Northeast and the release of a special limited edition box set.

"A significant artistic achievement"
—Troy Collins, Point of Departure

"Close to perfection"
—Thierry de Clemensat, Paris Move

"Intricately designed music...by turns funky, swinging, and free, with an unerring sense of musical narrative...played by a stellar band"
—Jon Garelick, Boston Globe

Available worldwide, with official full length video. Ancestral Dubbers⸺a special dub remix by Marcus Urani (Rising Tide, Groundation) of Second House from Jason Robinson, Ancestral Numbers I (Playscape, May 2024). A dub reimagining brings together long time friends and collaborators Robinson and Urani in a wild jazz-meets-dub soundscape featuring Robinson’s Janus Ensemble, with Robinson on tenor saxophone, Michael Dessen on trombone, Joshua White on piano, Drew Gress on bass, and Ches Smith on drums and glockenspiel, mastered by reggae engineer legend Jim Fox. Long ago and far away Urani and Robinson were part of the Sonoma County, California music scene that spawned reggae touring powerhouse Groundation, and a vibrant jazz scene that exploded in many directions. Friends and collaborators for 30 years, they team up again to introduce a new set of musical possibilities. Ancestral Dubbers is streaming everywhere on 11 June 2024 and available artist direct at jasonrobinson.bandcamp.com. Full length video available exclusively at youtube.com/jasonrobinsonmusic.

"If you like music that crosses borders and tends to the edgy and unpredictable, you'll love this. If you haven't yet freed your tastes from the gridlocked high road of traditional song structure, now's your chance to expand your horizons. It's a journey well worth taking."
—David O'Byrne, outsideleft.com

"It's 7 minutes of fantastical trippery, true to the musicians' feel but a Cre-a-tion all its own. Check it out."
—Greg Burke, metaljazz.com

Robinson heads to Europe in July 2024 to perform with GROWLER, a new group that reunites Robinson with long time musical friends, bassist Scott Walton (Cosmologic, Trummerflora) and trombonist Christopher Robin Cox (51st Monkey), along with several new collaborators. Concerts in France, Czechia, and Hungary.

Released on 14 May 2024, Ancestral Numbers I is the first in a series of two new albums that feature a quintet version of Robinson's Janus Ensemble. Robinson is joined by trombonist Michael Dessen, pianist Joshua White, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Ches Smith. The subsequent album in the series, Ancestral Numbers II, is scheduled for release in October 2024, which will be accompanied by a series of tour dates in the US Northeast.

"An 'essential' that deserves your full attention."
—Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move

"Ancestral Numbers I is not just heard; it is experienced. It serves as an acute reflection on personal and collective journeys, encapsulating the power of music to convey deep familial connections and historical legacies. Through its acoustic purity and emotive depth, this album invites listeners into a reflective adventure of where they come from and the music that moves them."
—Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz

"It’s so rare nowadays that you hear truly original music that makes sense even when it flaunts the rules."
—Lynn René Bayley, Art Music Lounge

Fans in western Massachusetts area have a few opportunities to catch Robinson presenting several projects. On March 30 he debuts his New Quintet at the "Words and Music" Faculty Composition Showcase event at Amherst College. Featuring trumpeter Zoe Murphy, pianist Anastassiya Petrova, bassist Jacob William, and drummer Richie Barshay, Robinson's New Quintet will premiere new pieces from his Ancestral Numbers and For Yusef Lateef composition series. On April 25, Robinson brings together new and longtime collaborators from Boston and New York for a concert called Confluence: An Evening of Jazz. Robinson will be joined by veteran saxophonists Allan Chase and Charlie Kohlhase, along with bassist Matt Dwonszyk and featuring special guest, drummer, composer, and filmmaker George Schuller. The concert will take place at the Blue Room at CitySpace in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Also at the Blue Room, on May 10 Robinson’s local community building project for musicians called Creative Music Gathering will give a rare public facing performance featuring a cross section of the region’s most exciting improvisers and composers. Details for all of these events are on the TOUR page.

Robinson takes a quintet version of his Janus Ensemble into the recording studio to record two albums -- Ancestral Numbers I and Ancestral Numbers II -- of his ongoing composition project of the same name, which draws from numerical relationships in his family's history to inspire compositional forms that are then brought to life with his collaborators. The two albums will feature Robinson with longtime friends and collaborators Michael Dessen (trombone), Joshua White (piano), Drew Gress (bass), and Ches Smith (percussion). The albums will be released in summer and fall 2024 on Playscape Recordings.

Awarded a grant from the Erving Cultural Council and the Mass Cultural Council, Robinson convenes a quartet to debut two new compositions dedicated to the villages of Farley and Ervingside in the town of Erving, Massachusetts, where he resides. Also featuring other jazz compositions inspired by places, the concert is part of Erving's Summer Concert Series at Riverfront Park. All ages and free!

Originally scheduled for summer 2020, Robinson performs throughout Japan at the beginning of June 2023 with guitarist Eric Hofbauer in support of their release Two Hours Early, Ten Minutes Late: Duo Music of Ken Aldcroft (Accretions, 2020). They're joined by Robinson's longtime friend and collaborator Marcos Fernandes and local collaborators in each city.

Performing on the Arts at Amherst Initiative's Arts Faculty Showcase at Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst College, Robinson premiered "Malachi," on of a series of compositions to be recorded by his Janus Ensemble in August 2023 for his Ancestral Numbers project. The performance featured a special configuration of his ensemble; he was joined by trumpeter Thomas Heberer, pianist Angelica Sanchez, bassist Avery Sharpe, and drummer Yoron Israel.

Robinson gave an invited talk titled “From Farm Shares to Jazz Shares: Alternative Community-based Music Presenting in Western Massachusetts,” highlighting the innovative arts presenting and community building being done by the great folks of Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares. Robinson recently published a review about Jazz Shares in the journal Jazz and Culture (University of Illinois Press).