Alto Saxophonist/Composer Pete Robbins - CD Release Celebration

Listening to Do The Hate Laugh Shimmy, alto saxophonist/composer Pete Robbins latest CD transports you into his distinct musical universe. It is filled with soaring sonic sculptures; ten singular Robbins compositions (that seem to delight his band judging from the zeal and ownership with which they interpret his tunes), peppered with his sprightly and beautifully-toned flights of improvisation on alto sax.

Do The Hate Laugh Shimmy, which borrows its title from a poem by e.e. cummings, is a highly unique vision/musical statement that has come together with superlative contributions from some of Robbins' frequent collaborators and friends: Sam Sadigursky (tenor saxophone), Jesse Neuman (trumpet, pedals), Craig Taborn (Fender Rhodes, Nord Electro), Eliot Cardinaux (Fender Rhodes, Nord Electro, loops), Ben Monder, Ryan Blotnick (guitars), Mike Gamble (guitar, pedals, loops), Thomas Morgan (bass), Dan Weiss, Tyshawn Sorey (drums).

Pete Robbins not only borrowed a title from e.e. cummings, but also some of the spirit in which the celebrated author created his works. Robbins music, much like a bulk of cummings' work, is intelligent, refined and virtuosic, while simultaneously audacious, idiosyncratic, and most of all emotionally and intellectually stimulating.

"[Robbins leads an] ambitious ensemble that combines spacious avant-gardism with the melodic punch of rock....[he has] a cool tone and a thoughtfully off-kilter sensibility." (NATE CHINEN, The New York Times)