Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Billy Robinson was born on May 31, 1939, in Fort Worth, Texas. His jazz roots go back to his father’s nightclub where he played boogie-woogie piano as a child, and watched the adult musicians perform. At the beginning of his musical career he played with John Carter, Ornette Coleman, and Dewey Redman. Living and playing in San Francisco, California in the mid-1960s towards the end of the decade he relocated to New York City, where he collaborated with Charles Mingus in 1969.

During the late 1960s, Robinson converted to Islam and remained a practicing Muslim for the rest of his life. A move to Montreal, Canada is where he married his first wife in 1970. Short-lived, four years later  he married Suzanne Cyr and moved to Ottawa, Canada in 1978 and performed sporadically at the local level.

Following his recording debut on Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues, Billy released his first album titled Evolution’s Blend as a leader in 1972. Then in 1973 he played on the Sadik Hakim track Grey Cup Caper. From 1972 to 1998 he was a part of six recording sessions.

Tenor saxophonist, composer, educator and bandleader Billy Robinson, who was dubbed The Mystic by Freddie Hubbard, transitioned from a heart attack on August 11, 2005, in Ottawa, Ontario, at the age of 66.

Bestow upon an inquiring mind a dose of a Fort Worth saxophonist to motivate the perusal of the genius of jazz musicians worldwide whose gifts contribute to the canon…

Billy Robinson: 1939 ~2005 | Tenor Saxophone

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