Perry Robinson

Perry Morris Robinson (born September 17, 1938 in New York City) is an American jazz clarinetist and composer. He is the son of the noted composer Earl Robinson.

Biography
Robinson grew up in New York City and attended the Lenox School of Jazz in Massachusetts in the summer of 1959. His first record, Funk Dumpling (with Kenny Barron, Henry Grimes, and Paul Motian) was recorded in 1962. He also appeared with Grimes on The Call in 1965. Robinson served in a U.S. military band in the early 1960s. Since 1973 he has worked with Jeanne Lee and Gunter Hampel's Galaxie Dream Band. He contributed to Dave Brubeck' s Two Generations of Brubeck and played with Burton Greene' s Dutch klezmer band Klezmokum. He has led his own groups in performances and on record, with albums on the Chiaroscuro, WestWind, and Timescraper labels. More recently, he worked with William Parker and Walter Perkins on Bob's Pink Cadillac and several discs on the CIMP label.

From 1975 until 1977, Robinson was member of a band called Clarinet Contrast, featuring German clarinet players Theo Jörgensmann and Bernd Konrad. He has recorded with Lou Grassi as a member of his PoBand since the late Nineties, and with Lou Grassi, Wayne Lopes and Luke Faust in 'The Jug Jam', an improvisational jug band. He plays in a free jazz and world music trio along with tabla player Badal Roy and bassist Ed Schuller, with whom he recorded the CD Raga Roni. He has played with Dave Brubeck and Muruga Booker in the MBR jazz trio. Robinson also played an integral part in the formation of 'Cosmic Legends' an improvisational music/performance group led by composer/pianist Sylvie Degiez which included musicians Rashied Ali, Wayne Lopes, Hayes Greenfield, and Michael Hashim among others. In 2005 he was featured on his cousin Jeffrey Lewis' album "City and Eastern Songs" on Rough Trade Records, produced by Kramer. His most recent release was OrthoFunkOlogy in 2008 with the band Free Funk, also featuring Muruga Booker, Badal Roy, and Shakti.

His autobiography, Perry Robinson: The Traveler (co-authored by Florence F. Wetzel), was published in 2002.

As leader

 * 1962: Funk Dumpling (Savoy)
 * 1978: Kundalini (Improvising Artists)
 * 1978: The Traveler (Chiaroscuro Records)
 * 1989: Nightmare Island: Live at the Leverkusener Jazztage (WestWind)
 * 1990: Call to the Stars – Perry Robinson Quartet – (WestWind)
 * 1998: Angelology - Perry Robinson Quartet - (Timescraper CD 9613)
 * 2003: Still Traveling - Perry Robinson Quartet -(WestWind WW2139)
 * 2005: Children's Song - Perry Robinson Trio - (Konnex KCD 5149) (Recorded in 1990)
 * 2005: The Gone Orchestra Presents: Perry Robinson and the Eternal Flame (Mahaffay Musical Archives)
 * 2009: Two Voice in the Desert - Perry Robinson and Burton Greene (Tzadik Records)
 * 2010: Mystic Overflow duet with Muruga Booker - Sagitarius/Qbico Records

As sideman

 * The Call - Henry Grimes - 1965 ESP-Disk
 * Mama Too Tight - Archie Shepp 1966 Grp Records UPC: 011105024822
 * Bunky & Jake 1968 Mercury Records
 * It Crawled into My Hand, Honest - The Fugs Reprise RS-6305 or Transatlantic 181 or Edsel XED-181 – 1968
 * L.A.M.F. - Bunky & Jake 1969 Kiribati Productions
 * Liberation Music Orchestra (1969)
 * Jazz Composers Orchestra: Escalator Over The Hill - JCOA EOTH or 839 310 - November 1968 - June 1971
 * Jake & The Family Jewels - Jake & The Family Jewels - Polydor 244029 - 1970
 * I'm The One - Annette Peacock RCA 6025 – 1972
 * Impulsively! – Various Artists 1972 Impulse Records
 * Numatik Swing Band - Roswell Rudd & The Jazz Composer's Orchestra - JCOA Records, 1973
 * Conspiracy - Jeanne Lee – 1974
 * Poum - Composers Collektive (Perry Robinson, John Fischer (pianist), Mark Whitecage, Laurence Cook, Mario Pavone) (1974)
 * Secret Sauce – Skyking Columbia 33367 – 1975
 * Interface - John Fischer (with Mark Whitecage, Perry Robinson Armen Halburian, Rick Kilburn, John Shea, Jay Clayton & Laurence Cook) (1975)
 * Live at Environ - John Fischer (with Perry Robinson & Rick Kilburn) (1975)
 * Environ Days - John Fischer (with Lester Bowie, Perry Robinson, Charles Tyler, Marion Brown, Arthur Blythe & Phillip Wilson) (recorded 1970's, Released 1991)
 * I Wanna Play for You - Stanley Clarke – 1977 Sony UPC: 074646429525
 * It Just So Happens - Ray Anderson 1978 Enja UPC: 063757503729
 * You Better Fly Away - Clarinet Summit (with John Carter, Gianluigi Trovesi, Theo Jörgensmann, Bernd Konrad, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Didier Lockwood, Stan Tracey, Eje Thelin, Kai Kanthak, J.F. Jenny-Clark, Günter "Baby" Sommer, Aldo Romano) (1979)
 * Mr. Playdough Man - Cool and the Clones, Ejaz (cassette) - 1979 - 1983
 * Celestial Glory - Gunter Hampel & His Galaxie Dream Band 1981
 * Inscapes - Gunter Hampel, Birth BVNT05 (video)
 * Live in Eastern Europe - John Fischer (1983)
 * Licorice Factory (1986) - Licorice Factory
 * Songs Of The Working People - Flying Fish 483 – 1988
 * Materialized Perception - German Clarinet Duo (1992)
 * Jew-azzic Park - Klezmokum (1994)
 * Pogressions - Lou Grassi (1995)
 * ReJew-Venation - Klezmokum (1998)
 * Pushin' 30 - Eli Yamin, Yamin Music - 1998
 * ''The Best of Kilopop! - Chris Butler, Future Fossil Music DIG4-CD/FF – 2000
 * New Prohibition: A Music History of Hemp (Various Artists) - Viper Records – 2001
 * Klezmokum: Le Dor Va Dor - BVHAAST 0700 – 2001
 * Bob's Pink Cadillac - William Parker Clarinet Trio – 2002 Eremite Records UPC: 723724625129
 * ComPOsed - Lou Grassi's PoBand/John Tchicai 2002
 * Buzzy Linhart Presents the Big Few (2003) - Buzzy Linhart
 * Kundalini Rhapsody - Muruga Booker, Dr. Dennis Chernin, & Perry Robinson – 2003 Think
 * One Global Village - Global Village Ceremonial Band – 2005 Qbico
 * Honeysuckle Dog - Chris Smither 2004 Okra-tone Records UPC: 691874497128
 * Invisible Cities - Steve Swell/Perry Robinson 2004
 * Rarum Xv - Carla Bley 2004 Ecm Records UPC: 044001420825
 * Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962-70) (2004) - Albert Ayler (Interviewee) Revenant Records UPC: 630814021320
 * Children Song - Children Song 2005 Konnex UPC: 4017867030978
 * Free Funk – Free Funk (2005) Self-Titled LP on Qbico Records
 * Carnival Skin - Perry Robinson, Peter Evans, Bruce Eisenbeil, Hilliard Greene, Klaus Kugel - Nemu Records - 2005
 * Impulse Story - Archie Shepp Impulse Records 2006 UPC: 602498551165
 * Still Travelling - West Wind Records – 2006 UPC: 614511742122
 * First Blues - Allen Ginsberg – (2006) Water UPC: 646315716627
 * Muruga & The Global Village Ceremonial Band - (2005) Self Titled LP on Qbico Records
 * House That Trane Built: Story Of Impulse Records - Various Artists (2006) Impulse Records UPC: 602498562833
 * The Soul In The Mist - Andrea Centazzo, Perry Robinson & Nobu Stowe (2007) Ictus Records
 * Hommage an Klaus Kinski - Nobu Stowe-Lee Pembleton Project (2007) Soul Note Records
 * Ancestors, Mindreles, Nagila Monsters - Klez-Edge (2008) Tzadik UPC: 702397812722
 * OrthoFunkOlogy – Free Funk (2008) Musart
 * Three Neighbours - (Gerald Achee, Perry Robinson and Joel Chassan, 2009)