James Robinson

Performing at MACLA at 8:30 PM. 

One listen to the Bay Area native’s virtuosity, emotionally compelling melodies and rhythmically eclectic grooves which range from Latin, Funk, Middle Eastern and straightforward jazz will no doubt inspire guitar fans the world over to echo Larry Carlton’s sentiments upon hearing Robinson’s music for the first time: “James is an extraordinary talent that deserves to be heard”. Robinson, who counts Carlton as one of his boyhood guitar idols, met Vai through Carlton, and Vai was immediately hooked: “He’s phenomenal!”

Robinson released two widely acclaimed independent CDs, his self-titled 1997 debut (which featured electric and steel string in addition to acoustic) and 2000’s Tumbling Into The Sky.

In 2003, the year he originally released Colours independently, Robinson won San Francisco radio station KKSF’s Bay Area Artist Contest. As a result, the album’s opening track, flamenco flavored “Tales of Change,” was featured on the KKSF CD Sampler for AIDS Relief, Volume 14.

As Robinson explains in his liner notes, Colours was written to celebrate the powerful influence that the culturally diverse San Francisco Bay Area has had on him and the development of his music. “All three of my albums have shown a certain eclectic approach, incorporating jazz and flamenco and a deep sense of improvisation.

A consummate working guitarist, Robinson played in all types of musical settings over the years. “I would never play in a situation if I disliked the music I think that it is very dangerous to ones artistic spirit to play music one does not love” “Over the years, even though I was successful as a guitarist, I was strongly driven to become more of a consummate artist”.