Three Stars: Lenny Robinson

Drummer Lenny Robinson is one of the busiest players in the District's jazz scene. Gigging regularly with the area's best for over 20 years, and also leading his own groups, he should be a familiar voice to any fan of local music. Combining formidable technique with an impeccable sense of swing, his playing retains a sense of individuality while staying true to the traditions of jazz drumming.

The 52-year old Baltimore native began his percussive journey in high school, after having played piano and organ in his father's church during earlier years. Robinson continued his formal training with studies at the Peabody Conservatory and Morgan State University, all the while soaking up the Baltimore music scene, which gave us monster drummers such as Dennis Chambers (jazz-fusion legend), Chester Thompson (Frank Zappa, Genesis), and Larry Bright (John Scofield, Frank Gambale). After a few years of touring internationally on the R&B circuit, he moved to New York, where he enlisted in the Army Band stationed in Brooklyn and started building connections with the likes of Jaco Pastorius, Mike Stern, and a host of other first class musicians. Robinson moved to the D.C. area in 1985, after he and his wife had their son, but still gets calls for gigs around the world.

His musical journey has led to an impressive list of collaborators. Dewey Redman, Roy Hargrove, Ahmad Jamal, and Eartha Kitt are just a few of the greats that have called on his talent. In addition, he has recorded two albums as a bandleader, Songs I Like to Play and Three for All. The latter features pianist Allyn Johnson of The Young Lions. DCist asked Robinson a few questions to get his thoughts on his personal history and the city's jazz community.

Visit Lenny online: www.lennyrobinson.com

See him next: The Millennium Stage's annual Christmas Day Jazz Jam or every Thursday at Jojo's.

Buy Lenny's albums: Available at CDBaby, Amazon, or iTunes

Questions for Lenny:

Where can folks come to see you play?

I have taken over the Thursday night gig at Jojo’s. It is still a piano-less trio like it was when Thad [Wilson] was there. The trio is Brian Settles on tenor saxophone and Ameen Saleem on bass. I like this gig because it is a true jazz gig. By that I mean we are free to explore the music without being called on to cater to any specific taste in genre. So it is possible to hear jazz, funk, reggae and atonality all within the same spontaneous composition. We don’t do that often, only as the spirit moves us, but we do push the envelope of musical boundaries.

I also play a lot at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel. This is a gig that is gaining some attention as it is one of the best places to relax, have a drink or something light to eat, and listen to some well performed music by a piano trio with a featured vocalist. The leader is Chris Grasso and there is a revolving group of musicians and vocalists that work there. The vocalists include Sharon Clark, Felicia Carter and Lavenia Nesmith. Locally, I also perform at Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, Twins, HR-57, The Lincoln Theater and anywhere else that hires live music. I also perform internationally and have a passport that needed to have pages added to prove it.

Any notable gigs coming up?

There are two that I want to highlight. Over ten years ago, Keter Betts put together The All-Star Christmas Jazz Jam on the Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center. It has continued to this day. I have done it for five years. The band consists of Chuck & Robert Redd, Tom Williams, Delores King-Williams, myself, and James King on bass. This concert is from 6 – 7 on Christmas Day. Get there early because it is packed. The entire foyer of The Kennedy Center is full of people. It’s a Christmas tradition.

Twenty-seven years ago, Keter started working at Blues Alley on New Year’s Eve with a guitar trio opposite Ahmad Jamal. After Keter’s passing, I approached Blues Alley with the thought of continuing that tradition as well. They agreed and this year will be the third year of New Year’s Ave at Blues Alley with Ahmad Jamal and the Keter Betts Memorial Band. We do a lot of the tunes that Keter liked to play. That band consists of myself, Michael Bowie and Paul Bollenback. I don’t have any tours in the works although any thing can happen. Every now and then I will get a call from someone in New York to do a week in Japan or four days in Europe so you never know.

As a veteran of the local scene, who are some local players that had a big impact on your personal artistic development?

I’d like to think that I had an influence on some younger players instead of the other way around. That being said, I really dig Quincy Phillips. He brings a joy to playing that I think gets lost sometimes in the quest for chops, although he’s got them too. That whole Young Lions group is a blast to hear. Allyn and I had a group together some years ago called 3 ForAll and we released a CD, Premonition, that I really liked. Sean Rickman is another one that gets my attention. The playing with him and Federico Pena is amazing. A lot of the young Gospel players are doing some interesting things; I just hope that they are getting some other training so that that style isn’t all they can play.

When you are the hotshot young player, things are great, but there will always be a new hotshot young player and then you must have some training or at least experience playing in other styles to be able to make a living from your instrument. You need to be able to read well. You need to be able to follow a conductor. You need to know how to play behind someone like Eartha Kitt, or Etta James, or Cassandra Wilson, or the guy who just hired you that sounds like Frank Sinatra.

What are some of the most memorable gigs you have played?

My most memorable gig was in 1975 at The Hague. I was playing the North Sea Jazz Festival with a Theatrical jazz group called Pamoja Experience. I was 17. We were on the main stage in the biggest hall. We went on between The Don Ellis Big Band and Ella Fitzgerald. Ella was sick even then. She had her nurse with her and she was in a wheelchair. After we finished our set, we all went backstage so they could set up for Ella. We could see Ella. She was somewhat slumped in her wheelchair and it was clear that she was ill. They wheeled her to the edge of the curtain and when the announcer said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Ella Fitzgerald," she got out of the wheelchair, hit the stage, and wasn’t sick anymore. She performed for what seemed like forever although it was probably more like 1 and a half hours with encore. She then took her bows, waved to the audience, walked backstage, got in her wheelchair, and was sick again. That’s when I realized the transforming power of performing music and how, if you give the music all you got, it will sustain you. I was 17. I have never been the same since.

What are your thoughts on the state of D.C.'s jazz scene? How has it changed over the years?

I think that D.C. has a very vibrant jazz scene. There are some very nice places to play. There are some club owners that are willing to allow musicians to stretch out and develop new ideas. There are some great musicians that have chosen to make D.C. their home. When I moved here from New York in 1985, it was because I saw D.C. as one of the only real alternatives to New York, culturally. I am glad I made that decision. I was blessed to have been here during the One Step Down era. I got a chance to play with some great folks there like Dewey Redmond, Eddie Harris, Archie Shepp, Ronnie Mathews, John Hicks, Carter Jefferson, and the like.

Unfortunately, it’s gone now but there are some other places that have developed in the meantime. Bohemian Caverns has come back, continuing its jazz legacy. The Twins are continuing to persevere in their commitment to the music. HR-57 has more firmly established itself. Blues Alley remains as one of the premier venues for jazz in the country. The Kennedy Center has increased its jazz programming. Newer places like The Mandarin Oriental, Utopia and Jojo’s are developing their own audience. That’s more than most places in this country. And that’s not counting the places that I don’t know about. Since I’ve come here, the jazz scene has grown and is continuing to develop.

Who are some of the musicians with whom you most enjoy playing today?

I don’t want to start naming names because, 1) I’ll leave someone out, 2) the list is way too long, and 3) it’s not necessarily about who I’m playing with, although some combinations of musicians work better than others. I enjoy the process of trying to find the best music in every situation, good or bad.

You have an active teaching practice. How does your teaching affect your playing, and vice versa?

My teaching impacts my playing both positively and negatively. I’ll do the negative first. Because I really enjoy teaching, I devote a lot of time to it and that takes time away from the things you need to do to maintain your craft, mainly practice. So as a result, I am not practicing at the rate that I would like and I can feel it when I perform. Thankfully, I am performing quite a bit so that even though I am not practicing as much as I would like, I’m playing all the time.

Now for the positive. I’m teaching at The Landon School, as well as the Bullis School and Reid Temple Christian Academy. I teach concert percussion, drumset and I direct the Concert Band at RTCA and I’m Asst. Director at Landon. This gives me the opportunity to impact students across a wide age, demographic, and economic spectrum. It’s the satisfaction of seeing the positive effect that music has on the development of these students that makes up for whatever issues I’m having because I didn’t get to practice quite as much I wanted to.

What are your short and long term goals as far as playing and recording?

I have a couple of projects that fall under short term goals. The first is my drumset camp that will take place July 27 -31 at Landon. This camp is a week long intensive camp that will cover such topics as technique, strength & endurance, swing, funk, ethnic rhythms, odd meters, and my personal favorite, what not to play and when not to play it. It will culminate in a drum set choir concert with some star rhythm section players as guests. The second is my piano-less trio. I am starting to write some music for that particular combination of musicians to record sometime in the beginning of 2009.

Long term I am starting to really get to work on a DVD that not only shows and demonstrates some of my approaches to playing the drums, but also passes on the idea of performing as a quest for the greatest musical good in any situation. Easy to write down, not so easy to get across in a video, but I’m working on it.