TROY ROBERTS – SAXOPHONE/COMPOSER/ARRANGER Hailing from the remote location of Perth, West Australia, saxophonist and composer Troy Roberts has received numerous awards including 3 consecutive DownBeat Jazz Soloist Awards and 2 consecutive West Australian Music Industry Awards, a Grammy Nomination medal for his performance on Sammy Figueroa’s “The Magician”, and was the only Australian semi-finalist in the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. Graduating with a Bachelor of Music at the young age of 19, he has toured Europe and the US extensively with artists such as James Morrison, Aretha Franklin, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Nicholas Payton, Lew Soloff, Robin Thicke, Ari Hoenig, Ignacio Berroa and Robby Ameen to name a few, and also completed a Masters Degree at The University of Miami. In 2012, he shared the stage in an international septet comprised of jazz greats Wayne Shorter, Richard Bona, Vinnie Colaiuta and Zakir Hussein for Herbie Hancock’s launch of the first ever International Jazz Day at NYC’s UN General Assembly Hall. More recently he was also part of Hancock’s 2014 International Jazz Day held at Osaka Castle Park, Japan, sharing the stage with jazz luminaries such as Gregory Porter, Marcus Miller, Roy Hargrove, Esperanza Spaulding, Sheila E, John Scofield and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Celebrating his 5th record as a leader, Nu-Jive 5, Troy is based in New York City and continues to maintain a busy performance and recording schedule around the globe. ...please visit www.troyroberts.com “Whilst it’s not common to display virtuosity, it’s even rarer to be wonderfully creative while doing so. But the rarest of all gifts is to have a unique voice; a sound that is unmistakably your own, Troy Roberts has this gift. He amply demonstrates that it’s possible to pay homage to the great tenor players of jazz and still create a fresh approach that leaves the listener always in anticipation of what he’ll come up with next.” – James Morrison “While jazz is so strongly identified as swing, it is nice to see the next gen carving out their sound and ideas. Roberts, along with his well-equipped ensemble, is certainly up to the task - creating a jazz record that employs great playing and abundant ideas. Roberts though young in age, certainly has an arsenal of abilities under his belt, and has the makings and foundation of a lasting great saxophonist. Versatile in style, with a strong grasp of yesterday and today, he is a force to be reckoned with no matter the setting. He is more than one to watch, he is one to follow closely.” – JazzTimes Magazine “…Substance and style will triumph over pretentiousness and ego every time. Roberts has a resume that will certainly make one sit up and take notice having shared the stage with such luminaries as Nicholas Payton, Orrin Evans and John Clayton. Nu-Jive 5 is Roberts fifth release as a leader and is brimming with vitality and that certain pop of originality that separates the "artist" from the "musician…" – Critical Jazz