Hank Roberts


Hank Roberts is an American jazz cellist and vocalist. He plays the electric cello, and his style is a mixture of rock, jazz, avant-garde, folk, and classical influences. He emerged with the downtown New York City jazz scene of the 1980s and is associated with its post-modern tendencies.

Background

In the early 1980s, Roberts made a number of recordings for the defunct JMT label, was a featured member of the Bill Frisell Quartet, and was an important voice in many groups of saxophonist Tim Berne. Roberts also recorded three discs with the Arcado String Trio, an improvisational chamber group featuring Mark Feldman, violin, and Mark Dresser, double bass.
In the early 1990s, Roberts left Frisell's group and stopped touring widely. He continued to release recordings, if sporadically, including with the progressive folk group Ti Ti Chickapea. In 2008, he was again touring and performing regularly, releasing Green on Winter & Winter, Stefan F. Winters subsequent label to JMT. In December 2011, Winter & Winter released Roberts' Everything Is Alive, as well as re-releasing his entire JMT catalogue.

Selected discography

As leader

With Arcado String Trio
  • Arcado
  • Behind the Myth
  • For Three Strings and Orchestra
With Miniature
  • Miniature
  • I Can't Put My Finger on It
With Buffalo Collision
  • Duck
With Tim Berne and Aurora Nealand
  • ''Oceans And''

    As sideman

With Tim Berne
With Bill Frisell
  • Lookout for Hope
  • Before We Were Born
  • Where in the World
  • Unspeakable
  • Richter 858
  • History, Mystery
  • Disfarmer
  • Sign of Life: Music for 858 Quartet
  • Big Sur
  • Harmony
With Alex Cline
With Marilyn Crispell
  • Santuerio
With Ti Ti Chickapea
  • Change of Worlds
  • Firestick
With Edmar Castañeda
  • Cuarto de Colores
With Donald Rubinstein
  • Martin
  • ''When She Kisses the Ship on His Arm''