Orphy Robinson

Orphy Robinson: vibes, marimba
Xantoné Blacq: keyboards, voice
Andy Grappy: tuba, sousaphone
Maurizio Ravalico: percussion

EXCLUSIVE! We’re super-privileged to welcome British jazz legend Orphy Robinson to Wolverhampton Arts Centre for a one-off gig of original material. Don’t hesitate to buy tickets for this one…

The iconic vibraphonist, who recorded two brilliant albums, When Tomorrow Comes and The Vibes Describes, for the Blue Note label in the 90s, is also renowned for his work on Courtney Pine’s blockbuster debut Journey To The Urge Within, and for his pivotal role in the hugely influential, groundbreaking big band Jazz Warriors.

Orphy, in demand at music’s top table, plays regularly as featured soloist with violinist Nigel Kennedy, and was commissioned to write and perform pieces from his suite Routes Through Roots in the Houses of Parliament for the UK celebration of the bicentenary of the Abolition Of The Slave Trade Act in 2007. In 2018 he was awarded an MBE for music services, and he chairs The Ivors Academy Jazz+ Council. He has worked with Don Cherry, Wynton Marsalis, Hugh Masekela and our very own Robert Plant, plus many, many more leading performers.
Long-standing collaborator Andy Grappy joined Orphy on the Jazz Warriors’ seismic debut Out Of Many, One People, released on the Antilles label in 1987, and will bring unusual flavours to this powerful new quartet.

Meanwhile Xan, championed by Masters At Work and Gilles Peterson, describes his own sound as ‘free-range sunshine music’ – so who knows where the evening will lead?

Orphy told us: “I would say that, when I spoke with the guys, it was that I was feeling a sort of New Orleans meets the Caribbean feel, but with a slight funky edge as well, because that’s what I hear with the tuba – not having a bass player, but having a tuba instead.

“Xantoné is one of the most versatile guys you’ll ever find – he can do anything. He’s a great keyboard player as well as, obviously, vocalist. He’s very excited about it – he’s being pulled more and more over to doing jazzier things, because his background was all funk and soul, being MD for Amy Winehouse for a while as well. He’s done a lot of high-profile gigging; a lot of Americans use him as a second keyboardist on a lot of European things. But then I’ve heard him do classical with Nigel Kennedy. He’s very versatile, I must say.

“It’ll be my own material. Xantoné and myself have been talking about it for a few years – we wanted to go a bit more ‘blues’ but like modern-day, with a bit of funk in there. But very much feeling blues aspects – we felt that was missing in a lot of stuff. And I notice that the first thing that sold in the Watford Jazz Junction festival [of which Orphy is chair] for us was Errol Linton, the fantastic blues singer and harmonica player. That sold out immediately, and I know that Adrian Gibson, the promoter in London, his Blues Festival apparently did great business. So it’s timely to look at some of that stuff – I do like the mix of Taj Mahal, the kind of things that he does, it’s really interesting. So yeah, I’ve been thinking about that for quite a while. I’d love to do it with acoustic instruments, like the tuba instead of electric bass, and I’m sure at one stage I will get a good banjo-cum-acoustic guitarist.

“Maurizio, he’s a fantastic percussionist – he’s something to behold. Basically he can play anything, any style, and I just love all the colours that he provides, on all the different-sized drum/percussion things that he uses. He would pop up in a lot of sessions – he’s one of those guys that just comes in, lays down whatever they need for whatever the session is, and then he’s gone! I’ve seen him in African music, I’ve seen him in loads of Latin, Galliano he would cover for Crispin Robinson on percussion there; he came and did my Roy Ayers thing and sounded like the records! He’s very versatile. He also does a lot of writing for film, and contemporary music as well. He’s also into some amazing electronics, unique!”

Don’t miss this, whatever you do!

Header image – Maxi Robinson