Orphy Robinson MBE

Born in London on 13 October 1960, Orphy Robinson MBE is a British jazz multi-instrumentalist who plays vibraphone, marimba, keyboards, saxophone, trumpet, piano, steelpans and drums — a range that speaks to a musician whose curiosity has never stopped expanding.

One of the few UK musicians to have been signed to the legendary American jazz label Blue Note, Robinson has performed on over 100 recordings with internationally acclaimed artists across many genres. He was a founding member of groundbreaking jazz big band The Jazz Warriors in the mid-1980s, recorded and toured internationally with Courtney Pine, and was a featured player on the first wave of Acid Jazz albums in the early 1990s. In 2015 he received a top twelve placing in the Vibraphonist of the Year Critics’ Poll for the historic jazz magazine DownBeat — the first musician from the UK ever to achieve this accolade.

He has worked with Hugh Masekela, Don Cherry, Wynton Marsalis, Lester Bowie, Nana Vasconcelos, Neneh Cherry, Nigel Kennedy and many more. He co-produced Carleen Anderson’s critically acclaimed album Cage Street Memorial and serves on the judging panels of the Ivor Novello Awards and the British Composer Awards.

On Monks Road Social he brings his distinctive vibraphone to multiple recordings including Humanism and Rise Up Singing!, adding a jazz depth and shimmer that is entirely his own.