ROBERT J. P. YORK

LATEST NEWS

AUGUST

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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.

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New footage of gigs will be posted here and on various social media over the coming weeks as well as the first tuitional videos. Keep an eye out. 

JULY

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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. 

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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

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

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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.

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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. 

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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

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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.

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MAY

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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

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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. 

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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

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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.  

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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. 

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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. 

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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 

FEBRUARY

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It is February already and things are warming up. This month sees further preparation for March's UK tour with plans for workshops and privates in the pipeline. Please enquire if you are interested.

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Friday 8th sees a return of Nightlark to the scene with some new arrangements and a fire to play some beautiful folk music for you all. Cafe Tasso 20.00.

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I am working on some new compositions and hope to unveil them at the gigs in March with the YORK 4TET. 

Please check the Concerts page for details of up and coming gigs and check out the new YORK Trio album in the Discography page.

JANUARY

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 Happy New Year! 

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January sees a couple of exciting things happening. Preperation for March's gigs in the South West of England have begun. See gig dates for details. 

On Saturday Hunting Island played their release show to a crowded theatre. The concert was a massive success. The album 'Heaven' is now available for CD purchase and some tracks are uploaded and available to hear on the 'Projects' page for you to check out.

DECEMBER

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December sees a slowing down before the holidays. I am however currently booking a small series of concerts for March 2019 in the South West of England with old friends and musical companions of mine. I am also in the process booking gigs for the Trio here in Berlin. In addition to my own projects, I am really excited at the release of the 'Hunting Island Orchestra' debut album 'Heaven'. We are also playing the album plus old favourites in January. Check gig listings for more info. I am also looking forward to playing with old bands mates Toby Perrett and John-Paul Gard at the Old Fish-Market in Bristol on the 23.12. for some swinging standards organ trio style. Merry Xmas everyone

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EARSHOT ALBUM REVIEW!!!

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“Tell No One” is a very fine debut album by Earshot. So despite the command, I’ll spread the word. Aside from a glorious wealth of melodies, the Berlin-based quartet stands out with a combination of elegance and coolness that is rarely heard from such young players. Led by the two melody-focussed players, Arabella Sprot (s) and Robert York (g), this four-piece takes the motifs through different moods with a punch, whilst the rhythm section displays enough independence to keep the excitement level up. The only danger with so much coolness is a lack of those big virtuosic moments. The guitarist periodically asserts more authority and employs some energetic lines that indicate the post-Metheny school. But it must be said that there is too much holding back from the saxophone. On the other hand, Sprot’s precisely placed eighth-note lines create particularly expressive melodies, perhaps even as a result of this caution. So go and listen, but remember: “Tell No One”.

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Concerto Magazine Aug 2018 - translated by Arabella Sprot

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original - see right

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MAY - NOV

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There has been loads going on since last I updated the website.

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May-Aug - During the months of May to August I played a record number of gigs with verious bands in and out of Berlin, I performed in Weimar with my trio for my masters recital and spent two days recording in the studio. This culminated in the awarding of 1st degree masters. I am incredibly happy with the result and the recordings that came out of the project.

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In August Earshot finally got onto the fantastic UNIT RECORDS label and our album 'Tell No One' is now available on Spotify. 

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Sep to Nov - During this time period I began teaching theory and ensemble studies at an international school here in Berlin whilst beginning intensive rehearsals for the Hunting Island series of concerts and subsequent recording session. They were great gigs and the recording will be great. 

APRIL

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April sees a few new and exciting things taking place. I have recently started working in a duo/trio with Lina Peters and Paul Santner. A gig last month highlighted some interested and promising things that we can develop as a group. Lina and I are in the process of developing our online presence for future gigs. Videos to come.

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Earshot is still on the look for a label to take on the new album but there has been interest from a few labels so we are hoping for a good result. Meanwhile our short-run of CDs for our Indiegogo supporters have arrived and will be sent our soon. Don't worry thought, there are a few spare to be bought in person at one of our coming gigs in May. 

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The masters Trio is coming along well and we now have a date for the recording in July at which time we will also be doing a concert (still to be confirmed). Stay posted for more news on the demo recording. 

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Lastly, Nightlark are going into the studio to record a demo. A friend of the group and student at Abbey Road studios Berlin kindly offered us a session and we are pleased to finally get into the studio and lay down some of our work. I will keep you posted on the results.

FEBRUARY

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February saw the return of my project Earshot to an old haunt in Cafe Tasso. The gig had a fantastic turnout and we played a energetic set of material featured in our new album soon to be released.

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With the end of February comes an end to my first semester as a masters student at HfM Franz Liszt Weimar. The 'York Trio' project is well underway with most of the new material written and now being fine tuned in rehearsal with professor Frank Möbus.

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In other news I am happy to be filling in for the fantastic Attila Muehl in the swing band Moonglow at the end of the month. Looking foward to playing some beautiful, old school swinging tunes.