Justin Robinson (born August 14, 1968) is an American

alto saxophonist The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

. He has performed with artists such as the Harper Brothers,

Cecil Brooks III Cecil Brooks III (born 1959) is an American jazz drummer and record producer who has worked with Arthur Blythe, Russell Gunn, John Hicks, Andrew Hill, Etta Jones, Roseanna Vitro, Marvin Peterson, and Jimmy Ponder. A native of the Homewood n ...

Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of deli ...

, Diana Ross,

Little Jimmy Scott James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After ...

, the

Carnegie Hall Jazz Band The Carnegie Hall Jazz Band was a big band organized in 1991 by George Wein. Its musical director was Jon Faddis. The group gave its first performance in October 1992, and gave concerts paying tribute to classic jazz musicians as well as new commi ...

, the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Band and was a member of the quintet and big band of trumpeter Roy Hargrove.

Life and career

Robinson was born in Manhattan, and first began playing saxophone at the age of 13, while attending the High School of Music and Arts (LaGuardia High School) in New York. His first influences were Charlie Parker and Jackie McLean. He first stepped on the stage of the

Village Gate The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Streets in Greenwich Village, New York. Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 160 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structu ...

in the show ''First Generations of Jazz''. From 1984 to 1986 he belonged to the ''McDonald's High School Jazz Band'' where he met Philip Harper and at the age of 18 joined the Harper Brothers with

Winard Harper Hiram Winard Harper (born June 4, 1962) is an American jazz drummer. Career Harper played in the 1980s with Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, and with Betty Carter for four years. While working with Carter he met Wycliffe Gordon, with whom Harper ...

. In 1988 he joined Betty Carter’s band. Starting in the early 1990s, he played with

, Diana Ross,

, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Band,

Kate Higgins Catherine Davis Higgins is an American voice actress, singer and jazz pianist. Career Music career Higgins earned a degree in music from Auburn University in 1991. She is a trained pianist who studied with the jazz artist Bob Richardson. She rel ...

, Sam Newsome and especially Roy Hargrove, both in his big band and quintet. His debut recording project '' Justin Time'' (Verve, 1991), was produced by

Bobby Watson Robert Michael Watson Jr. (born August 23, 1953), known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. Music career Watson was born in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He ...

and featured Eddie Henderson, Kenny Barron and

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Wor ...

among others. On 1998’s '' Challenge'' he was accompanied by his childhood friend Stephen Scott. Robinson lives in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Discography

* 1991: ''Justin Time'' (Verve) * 1998: ''The Challenge'' (Arabesque) * 2012: ''In the Spur of the Moment'' ( WJ3) * 2014: ''Alana's Fantasy'' (Criss Cross Jazz) * 2019: ''At First Light'' (WJ3) With

*''

Hangin' with Smooth ''Hangin' with Smooth'' is an album by drummer Cecil Brooks III, recorded in 1990 and released on the Muse label. Reception ''The Star-Ledger'' praised the "mix of hard-bopped standards, smooth ballads and smart, catchy originals." The ''Boston ...

'' (Muse, 1990) With Roy Hargrove * 2006: ''Nothing Serious'' (Verve) * 2008: '' Earfood'' (EmArcy) * 2009: ''Emergence'' – The Roy Hargrove Big Band (Groovin' High)

References

Justin Robinson
all-about-jazz ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Justin American male saxophonists Living people 1968 births 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians WJ3 Records artists Verve Records artists Criss Cross Jazz artists Arabesque Records artists