Breaking hiatus briefly to amplify a message about an extraordinary musician playing two shows this Thursday. Scott Robinson is a musician unlike any other: a skillful saxophonist who can swing and sway in the manner of Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, and a multi-instrumentalist omnivore capable of going toe-to-toe with Anthony Braxton or Roscoe Mitchell.
It was in Mitchell’s company that I last saw Robinson in person, during the 2025 Vision Festival. He’s worked with Buck Clayton, Lionel Hampton, Paquito D’Rivera, the Maria Schneider Orchestra, New York City Opera—the list goes on and on. He’s currently a member of the quartet East Axis alongside pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Kevin Ray, and drummer Eric McPherson.
Robinson appears under his own name less often than he ought to, but he’s got two engagements coming up this Thursday, Oct. 1, that folks ought to know about. Unfortunately I can’t make it to either one, but as a show of support I offered to publish his gig announcement verbatim, in hopes that some of you might be persuaded to attend and spread the word. Read his description of “Reach for Tomorrow” and you’ll understand the fascination.
Take it away, Mr. Robinson…
Major milestone day coming up!
Multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson will premiere the first movement of his mammoth, one-man symphonic work, Reach for Tomorrow, in the Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College on Thursday, October 1 at 7 PM. The event is free and open to the public.
Robinson began the piece seven and a half years ago: a four-movement symphony for a one-man orchestra of over 200 instruments, played entirely by himself, by ear, with no written score and nothing worked out in advance. He’s worked on it every day that he has been home, for about an hour a day. The instrumentation includes such rarities as three contrabass saxophones, five tarogatos, sarrusophones, theremins, slide saxophones, contrabass oboe, bass and contrabass banjos, a bass marimba, an electric doorbell organ, tower chimes, and a nine-foot Philippine temple drum, alongside more familiar brasses, reeds, percussion, and vintage electronics—combinations, Robinson notes, that have never been heard together before.
The first movement, “Reach for Tomorrow,” runs 13 minutes. Robinson expects the full symphony to take 20 years or more to complete. At the Hunter College event, he’ll present the completed movement, discuss his process and intent, and take questions from the audience. Lang Recital Hall is located at 695 Park Ave. in Manhattan; however, attendees should use the 69th St. entrance. A performing arts representative will be stationed there to direct them to the hall.
Also: Earlier that afternoon, Scott's trio, aRT (akLaff, Robinson, Thayer), will be giving a free concert from 2-3 PM at the Jazz Museum in Harlem.
You can learn more about Reach for Tomorrow in a video Robinson posted on YouTube in 2020 as part of his Sound of the Month Club.
(Extra credit if you recognized this week’s newsletter header.)
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