Hank Roberts (born March 24, 1954, Terre Haute, Indiana)[1] 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,[2] and was an important voice in many groups of saxophonist Tim Berne.[2] Roberts also recorded three discs with the Arcado String Trio, an improvisational chamber group featuring Mark Feldman, violin, and Mark Dresser, double bass.[2]
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.[1] In 2008, he was again touring and performing regularly, releasing Green (with Jim Black and Marc Ducret) on Winter & Winter, Stefan F. Winters subsequent label to JMT. In December 2011, Winter & Winter released Roberts' Everything Is Alive,[3] as well as re-releasing his entire JMT catalogue.
