Podcast 561: A Conversation with Troy Roberts

I first heard Troy Roberts when he appeared in auspicious company at the first International Jazz Day at the United Nations in New York in 2012. There shared the stage with the likes of Wayne Shorter, Richard Bona, Vinnie Colaiuta and Zakir Hussein and more than held his own. Since then, the West Australia-born, saxophonist has won 3 consecutive DownBeat Jazz Soloist Awards, a Grammy Nomination medal, and become a regular member of both the Jeff 'Tain' Watts Quartet and Watts' 'Blue 5', as well as a key part of Joey DeFrancesco's new quartet, 'The People'. His 7th record as a leader, Tales & Tones (Inner Circle Music) builds on his past two stellar releases, and matches him with his long-time collaborator Silvano Monasterios on piano, as well as the one-two punch from Wynton and Branford Marsalis bands, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Watts. Roberts is capable of playing any number of styles at a high level. His two albums with his Nu-Jive 5 showed he could hit classic R&B and soul sounds, and Tales & Tones comes across as something of a classic quartet album. Given his solid rhythm section, Troy wisely intersperses his solos – some of which, like on "Mr. Pinonoock," are soaring and inspiring – with band play, and Monasterios' restrained playing creates mood and color that Hurst and Watts bring out with their flourishes.  Not that Silvano can't cook – check out the frenetic playing on "Boozy Bluesy" that ends the album. Podcast 561 is my conversation with Troy Roberts, and we discuss how a nice boy from Perth got into jazz, how Tales & Tones came to be, and how he fits his own work in with the many sideman gigs he takes. Musical selections from Tales & Tones include "Pickapoppy", "Boozy Bluesy" and "Take the A Train".