Kevin Robinson

Biography
Press

Kevin Robinson, is a performer/composer /educator multi- woodwind instrumentalist, and practitioner who explores various interdisciplinary approaches to composition and improvisation. He is a native of Baltimore, MD and is currently based in Los Angeles, CA. He received his BFA in Jazz Reeds from California Institute of the Arts where he studied composition with Wadada Leo Smith and Vinny Golia. Robinson is the leader of the band The Kevin Robinson Ensemble (KREation) which was established in 2003. The group has recorded ten studio albums. He has performed at various festivals and venues throughout the United States such as the Studio Museum in Harlem in New York City, The Made in LA 2012 Biennial in Los Angeles and at The Outsound Festival in San Francisco. Robinson has recorded at Capitol Records with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. He works with dancers, poets, visual artist, writers and film makers. Robinson has composed scores for several independent movies and from 20011- 2013 he was commissioned to compose scores for live performance at The Silent Film Series at the Bijou Theater in Valencia, CA. The series was featured in the LA Times. He has also performed with the Ulrich Krieger Sextet, Marilyn Crispell, Nicole Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith’s Creative Orchestra, the Vinny Golia Large Ensemble, Copper Root, Kuumba Collective, Warren Niedrich, the trio BRL and legendary krautrock group Faust. He was a participant at the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute (2012) at UCLA and a resident at Atlantic Center for the Arts (2014) in Florida. For two years, he taught CAPSA Summer Arts Programs for high school kids in Los Angeles. He taught Music Exploration and Composition classes to 4th graders at West Creek Academy in Canyon County, Los Angeles. He also facilitated an instrument-making workshop for kids as an artist in-residence at Project Row Houses in Houston, TX.

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Kevin Robinson saxophone, tenor

" Kevin Robinson’s music taps into a primal source of regeneration both universal and cellular. One is transported to a deeply felt and moving human cosmos no words can express. The fierce energy with which he frees compassion from his chest through his instrument is matched by a stoic defense of gravity. This is the real deal: witness Kevin dematerialize everything in the room then breathe it in and blast it back into the world." Melody Sumner Carnahan, Writer "I was lucky enough to be witness (as leader of a recent music residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts) to the development of a brilliant intervallic system of composition that Kevin has been working on, and which will be the basis for his compositions for this Indiegogo project. Please give him your support. The music is guaranteed to be interesting and different, passionate and real." Marilyn Crispell, Pianist /Composer "Their mission is to decompose all we know about sound, dimension and existence and reinvent it all into an untold array of marvelous things starting at the tip of your ears, then resonating on through your soul." Bill Harvey, Magic Bird Show WEAA 88.9FM "Kevin Robinson is an amazing composer , and instrumentalist . I met Kevin in 2009 and from the very 1st note he played I was deeply touched by his peace and humanity that I could hear and feel within his music . His music is directly informed by his life experience . Music without life experiences is merely just notes sounding at different speeds . Kevin's music is highly intellectual as well as infused with emotion and life , he paints with sound . I am also truly inspired by his compositional system , having been around during the initial stages of Kevin developing this profound and innovative way of looking at music , I too searched within myself to map my ideas . I encourage you to donate to Kevin's efforts he is without a doubt a talented human being and hard hard worker." James Brandon Lewis, Sony / Okeh Records Recording Artist "Kevin Robinson is a musician of unparalleled nuance, depth and beauty with a vast reservoir of joy and pain to draw upon. Kevin's well known fascination with playing long tones in indoor, outdoor and all space in-between has made him not only a player with a great sound, but also a player who is an expert listener. His impact on the musicians and communities he engages with is prolific and impactful full of creativity and decisiveness." Maryclare Brzytwa, Assistant Dean for Professional Development at San Francisco Conservatory of Music

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