BIOGRAPHY --
At home in a multitude of musical settings, Jameel Roberts embodies
what it is to be a complete musician. Long gone are the days where
musicians are limited to one genre. Jameel has and will continue to
transcend musical boundaries.
Saxophonist/pianist and composer, Jameel Roberts, a native of Norwalk
Connecticut, is already an accomplished young musician. Jameel began
playing saxophone at the age of 11. He played in the Baptist church and
found the sounds of reggae and calypso at home from his Caribbean born
parents. By high school he was playing professionally in many different
venues. Roberts received numerous outstanding soloist awards at the
2000 Berklee Jazz Festival.
That year he was granted a full scholarship to attend William Paterson
University and study with Don Braden. While there, he also studied with
the legendary, Jazz Messenger pianist, James Williams. Under the
tutelage of the late Williams, his skills as a pianist were greatly
heightened. Roberts quickly became fascinated by composition and soon
began composing various genres of music. He studied jazz
composition/arranging with Richard DeRosa and classical composition
with Anton Vishio & Dr. David Weisberg. This has lead to a recent
performance of his big band arrangement on Giants Steps featuring Joe
Lovano with the William Paterson University Big Band and a string
orchestra commission for the university in the fall of 2005.
Roberts has also had the opportunity to perform with: James Williams,
Richard DeRosa, Bill Mobley, Clark Terry, The Village Vanguard Jazz
Orchestra, Redman, LL Cool J, and numerous others. Jameel currently
resides in the Bronx, NY and is active in many genres of music. He is
currently working on an independent gospel album and his piano/rhodes
debut.