TROY ROBERTS

Hailing from the remote location of Perth, West Australia, saxophonist Troy Roberts has received numerous accolades including 3 DownBeat Jazz Soloist SM Awards, 3 GRAMMY Nominations, recorded on 6 Grammy Nominated albums, was the winner of the 2001 James Morrison Jazz Scholarship, was a semi-finalist in the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition, and was selected as a finalist in the National Jazz Awards to perform at The 2016 Wangaratta Jazz Festival, where he won 2nd place.

As an early entrant to The West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Roberts graduated with a Bachelor of Music at the young age of 19, before completing a Masters Degree at The University of Miami’s Frost School of Music some years later.

In 2012, he shared the stage in an international septet comprised of jazz giants Wayne Shorter, Richard Bona, Vinnie Colaiuta and Zakir Hussein for Herbie Hancock’s launch of International Jazz Day at The UN, NYC. He was subsequently also part of Hancock’s 2014 International Jazz Day held in Osaka, Japan and 2024 International Jazz Day held in Tangier, Morocco, performing with jazz luminaries such as Gregory Porter, Marcus Miller, Roy Hargrove, Esperanza Spaulding, John Scofield and Billy Childs.

Embracing his love for a vast variety of stylistic genres, three-time GRAMMY nominated saxophonist is quickly becoming one of the most widely recorded touring artists of his time. As a go-to first call saxophonist, his name adorns several essential recordings ranging from the legendary Joey DeFrancesco, the iconic Van Morrison, the quintessential Jeff “Tain” Watts, the tireless Orrin Evans Captain Black Big Band, the critically acclaimed Kurt Elling, the virtuosic Pat Bianchi, including numerous other jazz veterans, and newcomers considered taste-makers of their generation.

Roberts, a New York City based Australian immigrant, is also a prolific leader with sixteen releases to his name. Currently celebrating his latest, Green Lights (featuring John Patitucci, Paul Bollenback and Jimmy Macbride), Roberts maintains a busy recording and performance schedule with his quartet, his original project Nu-Jive, as well as some of the greatest artists of today.

“Roberts is a boisterous and effusive player, conversant but not busy. ‘Secret Rhymes’ has a bounce to it and Roberts excels here as a leader, with an awesomely arranged album with just a touch more arch than one can legally call straight-ahead.”

- DownBeat Magazine

“Roberts’ music seems to have been crafted by a superior musical intellect with a grasp of history and context as well as a sense of time and place, and – above all a sense of poetry, the ability of a storyteller and a wonderful sense of timing.”

- Raul DaGama

“Stuff I Heard is full of beefy horn sections, with an energy that suggests what you might hear from big band jazz. If you didn’t know the story behind this album, you’d probably guess that a quartet or quintet were playing at the very least.  That’s impressive enough, but it’s the music that matters here. And in this case, it’s superb.”

- The Vinyl Anachronist

“He’s not reaching out into the wilderness and grabbing something brand new, as most specialists in jazz improvisation.  Instead he’s going back and finding out what no one else noticed on the first pass.  His melodies and themes aren’t alien to jazz fans, but they always seem like they’re being approached from a different direction.  This sounds like great jazz from the past, but it also suggests new directions with every note.”

- The Vinyl Anachronist

“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