ROBERT J. P. YORK

LATEST NEWS

FEBRUARY

​

February is here. This month sees a lot of rehearsing and preparation for coming gigs as well as some great concerts with MoonGlow Including the full outfit performing at the KonzertHaus Berlin. Please check out the Concerts page for more info. 

​

Check out MoonGlow's new promo vid!!!

​

JANUARY

​

Happy new year! This month is traditionally slow but I have been fortunate to play some nice gigs with Moonglow to kick off the year. This quiet month gives me time to start organising new things for each of my projects. There are plans in the works for a new video and repertoire for Nightlark, new videos and material with Hunting Island and new material being written for a new iteration of my own 'YORK' project. There is also a new and unorthodox collaboration in the works. Keep an eye out for new info in coming posts.

​

DECEMBER

So it comes to the end of the year. This year has been filled with great moments as a teacher, writer and performer. I have had the pleasure of playing a tour in the UK with old friends and colleagues; reimagining my tunes in exciting ways, played in some of my favourite venues in Berlin and around Germany and performed numerous gigs with my favourite musicians. I have completed my audition for the professorship at the Jazz Institute Berlin and learnt alot and now await the result. Next year will see more great gigs with various projects and new material. I wish everyone a lovely seasonal holiday and please check my concert dates page for more info on coming performances.  

​

NOVEMBER

​

It is with great pleasure that I announce the honour of being invited to audition/interview for the professorship at the Jazz Institute Berlin in December. This month is dedicated to the preparation of this great opportunity. It is also my great pleasure to be performing again with Hunting Island this month presenting revamped and new material in various line ups at the wonderful Greve Studios. 

​

OCTOBER

​

This month things begin to quieten down with time for writing new material, rehearsing for upcoming gigs and teaching new students as well as old. Check concert dates for more info coming coming gigs.

​

SEPTEMBER

​

This months brings an assortment of concert with Nightlark, Hut Ab and Moonglow. Each event is a closed concert presenting a variety of exciting music from swing to pop and traditional celtic music. Check dates for coming concerts open to the public

​

​

AUGUST

​

It has been a lovely summer of concerts and relaxation. After the highly successful performance of the YORK trio at Donau 115, from which there will be some uploaded footage shortly, I have now begun rehearsals for a string of gigs with MOONGLOW, HUT AB, Nightlark and Hunting Island.

August 9th saw Nightlark perform at the IFB - Irish festival Berlin. We played a concise set of some of our favourite numbers followed by a joint collaberation with 'Breaking Strings' out of Munich. It was a graet success.

Monday August 26th sees Hunting Island descend upon the B-Flat with a new line up and fresh arsenal of tunes. A gig not to be missed.

​

New footage of gigs will be posted here and on various social media over the coming weeks. 

JULY

​

July brings a number of private functions and some down time to regroup and refocus musical energy. Hunting Island and Nightlark are in rehearsal coming concerts in August and my Trio is ready for our return to Donau 115 with new material. 

​

Preparation is in full swing for online video content and soon there will be uploads of video footage from previous concerts. Keep an eye out on the Media page. 

JUNE

​

So the weather is getting ever warmer here and this means lots of music going on in Berlin. 

​

This months sees heavy rehearsals for the York Trio featuring Tony Tixier & Hunting Island concerts at the B-Flat club in Berlin. Things are sounding great and I am very excited to present this music.

​

Lots of weddings and party concerts with Hut Ab, Nightlark, Moon Glow and Gregoire Peters. What a wonderful city to perform in. Such great musicians with whom I get to play. 

​

June brings an end to the teaching year and I am looking forward to recovering my energy for the coming semester and the next round of students. Contact me for privates either by the contact form or the number 01590 389 3960

​

Plans for my video lesson series is comin together and should be up and running by August. Keep an eye out on the Media page for details.

​

​

MAY

​

Lots of gigs this month. I have the pleasure of playing gigs all around the country with Nightlark, Hut Ab and Moonglow. 

In addition rehearsals continue with 'Hunting Island' for our new 4tet outfit to be featured at our concert in B Flat in August. 

In exciting news, Tony Tixier has agreed to play with the 'York Trio' at our concert in the B Flat on the 23.06.19. This will be you'll want to catch so come if you are in town. 

Lastly, Earshot has received a short but sweet review in the premiere UK jazz magazine 'Jazzwise' earning 3 out of 4 stars. See right for a look at the review.    

APRIL

​

This month is a quiet one for gigs but gives me the chance to catch up on a few important tasks. Alongside concert booking - see concert page for full listings of coming concerts - I have begun rehearsing new material with Hunting Island for future concerts as well as arranging and writing for my York Trio concerts in the summer. 

​

The footage from the York 4TET concerts in the UK will be uploaded this month and I have begun writing a series of instructional videos that will be posted online to help advanced hobbyists, semi professionals and professionals who want to access the praxis and mindset of a jazz improviser without having to learn the idiom of jazz or take a degree in jazz studies. Keep posted for news. 

MARCH

​

This month saw the music of my latest album 'Day Trip' debuted lived in the UK with the musical talents of Nicholas Dover, Will Harris and Billy Weir. Our UK gigs were a great success and our music positively received. Footage of the mini tour will soon be published on. Keep an eye on the 'Media' page for the videos.  

​

On Monday 25th March the Jelli Records radio show played my piece 'Campbeltown' from my latest record 'Day Trip' on their 'New Music Show'. Very cool to hear my music on the radio. 

​

In other news, my album 'Tell No One' has received another positive review from German magazine 'Jazzthetik'. A picture of the original review can be seen on the right and a translation of the review can be found below. 

​

jazzthetik / Angela Ballhorn 
3 ***
Where better to witness effective cross-border communication than in jazz? Earshot is a quartet consisting of 2 musicians from Britain, one Austrian and one German, who met in Berlin in 2015 and released their CD “Tell No One” on the Swiss record label Unit Records. Tenor saxophonist Arabella Sprot and guitarist Robert York are also both responsible for the compositions. And the musical understanding between them and the German-speaking rhythm section (Tom Berkmann on bass and Mathias Ruppnig on drums) is excellent. The quartet’s compositions have strong moments in which rubato passages with extended melodies are hugely atmospheric but are subsequently brought back up to speed and groove forwards. The busy interaction in the rhythm section manages to complement the elegant melodies without losing sight of the overall direction of this album. This quartet knows what it wants and has a strong musical vision. My listening tip is ‘Colourful Corners’, with a lovely introduction by saxophone and guitar. Sprot’s saxophone playing could occasionally have more bite, which would add an additional dimension to the quartet’s sound spectrum.

Translated 2019 by Arabella Sprot