Tom Roberts- From Stride to R & B, Tango and Choro

42 S. Palmer Street,Foxburg PA 16036

02 May, 2021

Description

“ … In our humble opinion Tom Roberts is without question one of the finest pianists today in the exciting Harlem stride piano style…“ Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts brings back its long time friend and audience favorite in “The Many Worlds of TOM ROBERTS: From Stride Piano and Virtuosic New Orleans Rhythm & Blues to Tango and Choro” on Sunday, May 2 at 2:00 PM in Foxburg’s Lincoln Hall. Enjoy a glorious Spring afternoon in the beautiful Allegheny-Clarion valley basking in the virtuosic genius and keyboard artistry of Tom Roberts – “one of the leading exponents of early jazz piano in the world today”, as stated by Ricardo Sciavales in The Heart and Soul of Stride, Blues, and Swing Piano. Tom will dazzle us with the music of James T. Booker – which Tom describes as “Stride on Steroids”- to the music of legendary jazz and blues pianist Henry Butler – a blind artist who reveled “in fluency and facility, splashing chords all over the keyboard and streaking through solos with machine-gun articulation.” Not to mention a taste of Tango and Choro. Tom tells of going to Cleveland to hear Harry Butler play a few years back. Afterwards Tom went to meet the jazz legend. A blind man since his youth, Harry Butler shook Tom’s hand and just wouldn’t let it go, seeming to sense something about this Being. Butler asked Tom – “Who are YOU?” Tom told him his name and Butler said, “Tom Roberts – I’ve heard you. You’re great!” Tom Roberts is one of the leading exponents of early jazz piano in the world today, (as stated by Ricardo Sciavales in The Heart and Soul of Stride, Blues, and Swing Piano). Tom has performed on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Statler Brothers Show on TNN and A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. He was the featured pianist at the International Stride Piano Summit in Zurich, Switzerland, 2001 and 2009. Tom was the pianist for Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks in New York City (recent Grammy winners for the soundtrack to Boardwalk Empire) and the pianist and musical director for Leon Redbone for six years. Roberts has arranged and performed music for the soundtrack of the Martin Scorcese film The Aviator as well as several titles for the film DeLovely; for the syndicated PRI show Riverwalk Jazz, Live from the Landing with the Jim Cullum Jazz Band; and a number of pieces for Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for a concert of the music of Louis Armstrong in October 2006.