Reginald Robinson – Original Compositions & Ragtime Piano
On Tuesday, April 9, 2019 self-taught genius of the keys, Reginald will perform on the Dazzle Steinway for a special evening of music. MAS Eclectic Concerts and Dazzle are pleased to bring Reginald from his home in Chicago to Denver for this rare solo recital. Before the terms Classical and Jazz were used to describe music, composers Jim Europe, Scott Joplin and other African American musicians created a unique form so special that it needed its own word to describe it – “Ragtime”. Reginald will share what this original form of music represents compared to the worlds of Classical and Jazz. In addition to impacting the music world, these composers broke social barriers and created an art form with lasting impact. Reginald continues this heritage bringing life to old favorites, unearthing little known compositions and stunning original music.
Mr. Robinson is a music historian, composer and performer without peer. Your perception of Ragtime will be expanded! This concert is for music lovers of all ages interested in an inspirational program of artistry, history and virtuosity in Denver’s downtown historic music venue Dazzle at Baur’s. We at MAS Eclectic concerts invite you to be inspired, share your love of music with friends and family and attend this rare visit to Denver by a most special musician.
Dazzle at Baur’s | April 9, 2019 :: 7:00 PM
1512 Curtis Street, Denver, CO 80202
Tickets
About Reginald Robinson
Twenty-five years after Reginald Robinson’s emergence as a young, self-taught pianist and composer, he has become an internationally recognized pianist, recording artist and educator.
His love for music started in 1984 with his brother Marlando playing big band jazz records at home. Robinson became interested in ragtime in 7th grade when a city funded arts program gave an assembly with a live jazz ensemble called from Bach to Bebop. In the middle of the assembly the group played a sample of Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer. Robinson decided this was the kind of music he wanted to play. That year his parents purchased a small electronic keyboard and the following year a full size acoustic piano. With his parents not being able to afford him a music education, he began to teach himself how to read and write music. This involved self-quizzing from music education books, creating his own piano exercises, studying published music scores and recordings.
1992 marked the year Robinson’s professional music career started. He was introduced by fellow musicians to pianist Jon Weber who immediately funded Robinson’s first demo entitled The Strong Man. The demo was later used as part of Robinson’s 1993 Delmark Records debut release under the same title. In 1995 Robinson scored original music for a Goodman Theatre play “Each One As She May” and that year received a nomination for best original music at the Joseph Jefferson Awards. In 2003 Robinson’s music was used for the play Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage and Robinson was nominated for best music director at the Beverly Hills/Hollywood Theatre Awards. In 2004, he was awarded the rare and distinguished John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Award for his innovation in ragtime.
In 2000 Robinson composed music for Compensation an independent film by Zeinabu Irene Davis and served as a contributing historian to Barbara E. Allen’s 2010 PBS documentary Chicago’s Black Metropolis. In June of 2017, he worked with Illinois Humanities to present “An Evening at the Pekin Theatre” which recreated the first owned and operated African American music theatre in the world, located in Chicago’s Bronzeville district. In 2018 Robinson was commissioned by Norman Malone and Kartemquin Films to compose the first ever piano ragtime work especially for the left hand only. In Nov of 2018 Robinson will be premiering a new commissioned work in tribute to the great early jazz bandleader James Reese Europe as part of Symphony Center Presents jazz series 25th anniversary.
Robinson lectures at colleges across the United States and collects and preserves historical materials related to ragtime and African American classical music.
Dazzle at Baur’s | April 9, 2019 :: 7:00 PM
1512 Curtis Street, Denver, CO 80202
Tickets
Videos
Reviews
“So here we have a youthful antiquarian in Reginald Robinson not only performing ragtime, but actually expanding the body of ragtime compositions by 20 original and quite appealing pieces. …Robinson is the embodiment of original intent. The music here, though his own, is dedicated to protecting and extending the classical beauty of the form with its structural formalities intact”.
– Downbeat Magazine, March 2007 (Man Out of Time)
“…The jazziest piece, number 13 in the lineup, is “Mr. Murphy’s Blues” a jaunty tune named for Robinson’s uncle, also a pianist. Other tunes including “Head Over Heels, Over You” and “The Amethyst” suggest European classical music inspiration. The Title tune has a strong Scott Joplin feeling, as does “Tears of Joy”.
-John McDonough, JazzTimes, May 2007 (Man Out of Time)