Hank Roberts Sextet is comprised of dynamic virtuosic instrumentalists: Hank Roberts – cello and compositions, Brian Drye – trombone, Dana Lyn - violin, Mike McGinnis – clarinet and soprano saxophone, Jacob Sacks – piano, and Vinnie Sperrazza- drums.

 The music has a multitude of influences and finds much inspiration from Jazz Improvisation/Composition forms, as well as New Music. The improvisation concepts are inspired from a variety of frameworks and thematic material derived from the written material, as well as the use of relatively unscripted improvisational expression.

‘SCIENCE OF LOVE’ 7 minute Audio Sample Reel

Sextet 7 Minute Audio Reel:

1. ‘Sat/Sun Pa Tu X’  2. ‘GLC Magnetic Floating Stripper’ 3. ‘Story’ 4. ‘Shifting Paradigms in Pre GLC 3’ 5. ‘205’

Compositions by Hank Roberts BMI Toad Blink Music

Recorded by Ryan Streber and mixed by Mathew Saccuccimorano, Luke Bergman and Hank Roberts. Mastered by Matthew Saccuccimorano.

Reveiws

 “a breakthrough for Roberts; orchestral in its scope and ambition and startling in its rhythms and harmonies; creates an enormous variety of moods and textures; subtle voicings beneath pensive, evolving melodies. Dynamic swings are huge, from quietude to wild clamor; vivid solo moments from all six players, but it is even more exciting when they improvise together and more exciting still when the whole ensemble returns to Roberts’ form and locks onto it.”

Thomas Conrad - NYC Jazz Record 

 “distinguished cellist Hank Roberts, who marked the New York Downtown music scene with his artistically refined sound, makes a great return with Science of Love, an enjoyable body of work inspired by droves and featuring a multi-generational sextet of New York talents. ‘a tasteful blend of jazz, classical and improvisation”

FILIPE FREITAS Jazz trail  

 “Cellist Hank Roberts returned to being a ubiquitous presence at the adventurous edge of the New York jazz scene; an exceptionally versatile and purposeful player.  A lusciously lustrous, Ellingtonian theme introduces the suite’s practically thirteen-minute next-to-last section.”

NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY

“This superb new album is a product of his return to the city in 2015, when he began composing the music and assembling an ensemble of players from a new generation. The writing feels like it could only come from a seasoned musician, as it allows for generous group interplay and extended improvisation within tightly arranged tunes which deftly balance the strings of Roberts and violinist Dana Lynn with the agile frontline of trombonist Bryan Drye and reedist Mike McGinnis and the drumming of Vinnie Sperrazza. It all conveys the cellist’s well-established lyrical identity with an entirely new sonic palette.” The Quietus

“Roberts is one of the great neglected talents of jazz, weaving among his partners and divergent traditions, from the dramatic minimalism of an erhu to the swirling complexities of violin raga.”

Stuart Broomer NYC Jazz Record

 “There’s a wisdom and patience and catholicity in this record (Green). ‘It’s all  one song,’ goes the hip musician’s cliché, but Mr. Roberts walks that walk.”    

Ben Ratliff, NY Times  

THE MUSICIANS

hank roberts

Hank Roberts has a storied career in the New York Jazz Improvisation Community that began in the late 70s. In addition to his recent Sunnyside Records release, ‘Science of Love’, he’s recorded 9 albums as a leader or in collaboration on the Winter & Winter/JMT label, 3 CD’s on the Level Green label as a leader, many self-released recordings, and has performed as a sideman on many recordings with a host of world-renowned artists. He currently performs with Bill Frisell’s HARMONY, and has played on numerous world-wide tours and on 7 of the guitarists’ recordings, including the Grammy award winning ‘Unspeakable’. The list of artists who hank has worked with includes Bill Frisell, Ron Miles, Rudy Royston, Ethan Iverson, Jenny Scheinman, Gordon Grdina, Andy Summers, Dave Douglas, Sting, Tim Berne, Gerald Cleaver, Nels Kline, Michael Formanek, Ches Smith, Wayne Horvitz, John Zorn,  Tony Malaby, Bob Moses, Gary Burton, Gunther Schuler, Joey Baron, Bono, Petra Haden, Mark Dresser, Andy Milne, and Mark Feldman.

MIKE MCGINNIS

Saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Mike McGinnis is a musical explorer unbound by stylistic barriers; unwaveringly individual, curious, and open-minded. He has released six critically acclaimed albums as a leader during his twenty-three years on the NYC jazz scene. In April of 2017 and 2018, he performed to sold-out houses at the world-famous Jazz Standard in NYC, leading a trio with jazz legends Art Lande and Steve Swallow. As musical director of the Davalois Fearon Dance Company, he has performed his compositions at the Joyce Theater, New Victory Theater, City Center, Metropolitan Museum, Harlem Stage, Rubin Museum, Bronx Museum and was the recipient of a 2019 MAP Fund Grant. For four consecutive years, he has been listed in the Clarinet “Rising Star” category by the DownBeat Magazine International Critics Poll.

McGinnis’ penchant for exploration has led him to work with a dizzying array of artists – from jazz innovators Anthony Braxton, Alice and Ravi Coltrane, Hank Roberts, Ben Goldberg, Peter Apfelbaum, Bernie Worrell, Gerald Cleaver, Steve Coleman, and Lonnie Plaxico to indie rock mainstays Yo La Tengo and Afro-Baroque Stew & the Negro Problem. He has performed on Broadway in the Tony-winning show Fela! and on film in Academy Award Winning director’s Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock.

Educational Bio

Mike McGinnis studied at the Eastman School of Music and University of Southern Maine before moving to NYC in 1997.   He has taught saxophone, clarinet, improvisation and composition privately for over 30 years.  He has been on the faculty of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music since 2003 creating curriculum and teaching jazz ensembles of all ages.  He has also given workshops at college institutions including NYU, Eastman School of Music, U. of Toronto, Guadalajara Jazz Center, Temple University (TX).  He is adept at teaching a wide variety of musical subjects to many different ages and levels. 

✭✭✭✭ 1/2 - McGinnis takes an exhilarating clarinet solo…and you want to jump and shout when it’s over.
-Ken Micaleff, Downbeat Magazine

"...increasingly distinctive musical voice"
-Richard Gehr, The Village Voice

www.mikemcginnis.com

DANA LYN

New York-based fiddler and composer Dana Lyn inhabits a musical world somewhere in the Venn diagram of 70’s art rock, classical, traditional Irish and improvised music. She has worked and performed with a wide variety of artists such as Tony Award-winning musicians Stew and Heidi Rodewald; Irish poet Louis de Paor; actor-directors Ethan Hawke and Vincent D’Onofrio; performance artist Taylor Mac; avant cellist Hank Roberts; Grammy Award-winning vocalists Loudon Wainwright and Susan McKeown; the late great Scots fiddler Johnny Cunningham; D’Angelo and the Vanguard and the Elysian Fields, among others. As a composer, Lyn has received commissions from the Brooklyn Rider, the Apple Hill String Quartet, the National Arts Council of Ireland, violist Nicholas Cords, the Los Angeles Inception Orchestra and the New Orchestra of Washington. Most recently, she was an artist in residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. Upcoming releases include an album of original music inspired by visual artist Jay Defeo as well as the sophomore release of her collaboration with actor Vincent D’Onofrio, Slim Bone Head Volt.

She has received commissions from the Brooklyn Rider, the National Arts Council of Ireland, the Apple Hill String Quartet, A Far Cry and Palaver Strings; she was an artist-in-residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in 2017, an awardee of the 2018 ACF Create Commission, a recipient of the 2020 NYFA Women’s Fund Award, and a Sundance Composer Lab Fellow in 2021. Also an esteemed fiddle player in the Irish tradition, Dana has taught at the Catskills Irish Arts Week, the Augusta Heritage Center and the Old Songs Festival as well as maintaining a private studio of fiddle students.

 www.danalynmusic.com

www.slimboneheadvolt.com

www.danalynkylesanna.com

BRIAN DRYE

Trombonist and Pianist Brian Drye is an integral part of NYC’s Creative Music Scene. His debut as a leader, ‘Bizingus’, was hailed as “One of the best introductions to a new band” by The New York Times.

As a Jazz trombonist Brian has performed with ‘Hank Roberts Sexet’, Billy Martin’s ‘Wicked Knee’, ‘Medeski Martin and Wood’, Steven Bernstein (‘Sex Mob’), jazz legend Clark Terry, Michael Formanek’s ‘Ensemble Colossus’, ‘The Wood Brothers’, experimental composer Annie Gosfield, and performance artist Laurie Anderson. He is currently performing as a trombone soloist with with the Broadway hit and Tony Winner, ‘Hadestown’ at the Walter Kerr Theatre in NYC.

For Over A Decade, Brian Has Been A Teaching Artist For Carnegie Hall Where He Has Worked Across The City In Partnerships With Public Schools, Detention Centers, Homeless Shelters And Community Programs. Through Carnegie Hall, Brian Has Developed Formative Assessment Strategies For Music Teachers In Partnership With Arts Achieve. He Has Developed Curriculum And Resources For The Weill Music Institute And Is Currently On Faculty At The Music Educators Workshop Which Supports NYC DOE Music Teachers.

In 2016 Brian Joined The Juilliard School As A Music Specialist Where He Supports Music Educators In Implementing A Juilliard Based Curriculum Within A Global Schools Network. He Has Also Served As A Part Time Music Teacher At The Lang School In NYC Which Serves “Twice Expectional” Students.

For Over 20 Years, Brian Has Maintained A Private Studio For Trombone, Piano And Theory To Students Of All Ages And Experience. In 2017 Brian Joined The Brooklyn Conservatory Of Music As The Program Director Of The Community Music School Where He Is In Charge Of Lessons, Classes, Curriculum And Ensembles For Students Ages 0-100.

 http://briandrye.com

Vinnie sperrazza

Vinnie Sperrazza is a Brooklyn-based jazz drummer. He has made a mark on the New York jazz community with his swinging, enthusiastic playing and his commitment to original projects. He has released three full-length albums of original compositions for Loyal Label and Positone Records, is planning a release of a trio album of original music with pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Michael Formanek for 2022, and has played on over 70 albums as a sideman.

Notable recent touring has been with saxophonist and composer Ohad Talmor’s Subway Lines, Stew and Heidi Rodewald in Stew and The Negro Problem, the Mark Morris Dance  Group’s Pepperland, composed and led by Ethan Iverson, and the Michael Formanek Drome Trio, featuring new extended compositions by Michael Formanek. He is a member of the Hank Roberts Sextet and Hank Roberts Trio, tours and records with the groups Landline, the Choir Invisible, Ember featuring Orrin Evans, Matt Bauder’s Hearing Things, Vinnie Sperrazza-Jacob Sacks-Masa Kamaguchi PLAY, and trioTrio, and collaborates closely with bandleaders/composers Mike McGinnis, Michael Formanek, and Ethan Iverson.

 Vinnie has taught music, drums, jazz ensembles, and surveys of American music in New York City since 2003. Initially working with the Brooklyn Music School in high-need public schools, he was coordinator of the Jazz Program at the Center For Preparatory Studies in Music at Queens College in Flushing, NY from 2007 to 2014, in addition to being the department’s percussion instructor, directing ensembles, and holding classes on jazz history and jazz theory. He was also Director of the Jazz Department at the JCC Thurnauer School of Music in Tenafly, New Jersey, from 2008 to 2013, while also being the department’s percussion instructor and directing ensembles. In addition, he was a Teaching Artist for Midori and Friends, coaching jazz ensembles and doing outreach in Manhattan, from 2006 to 2013.

He is currently teaching a course called Vox Pop: American Music and Society, 1890-2020 at Beekman High School, as a well as an adjunct jazz percussion instructor at Hunter College, both in New York City. He is the author of the course “The History of North American Drumming, 1890-2020”, taught in 8 weekly-sessions to nearly 50 students from the USA, Canada, Austraila, and England over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. The course is ongoing, and he hopes to host another Zoom session in the summer of 2022.

http://www.vinniesperrazza.org

JACOB SACKS

Jacob Sacks is one of the most creative pianists on the NYC jazz scene today. For over 25 years both in NYC and beyond, his strong individual voice has been heard in a variety of settings ranging from the mainstream jazz traditions of the Mingus Big Band and Orchestra to the open approach of the Paul Motian Septet and Octet(+1) to the vamp based fusion of David Binney’s Balance.

Originally from Michigan, Jacob was a 1995 Presidential Scholar In The Arts before he moved to New York City to study with Garry Dial at the Manhattan School Of Music. After graduation in 1998, Jacob was a finalist in the 1999 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.

Jacob has performed with musicians such as Lee Konitz, Clark Terry, Joe Maneri, Terumasa Hino, Charles Gayle, Eddie Henderson, Tim Berne, Michael Formanek, Tom Rainey, Ralph Alessi, Ben Monder, Rich Perry, Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Adam Rogers, and Matt Wilson, and has also done collaborations with artists such as Orlando Hernandez, Eric Wubbels, Ethan Iverson, Karen Ng, and Liz Kosack.

In addition to performing solo piano, Jacob leads several different ensembles - The Jacob Sacks Trio, the Jacob Sacks Chamber Quartet, the Jacob Sacks Quintet, Plaid Fantasy, and the Jacob Sacks Saloon band.  Jacob is also a co-leader in the Yoon Sun Choi - Jacob Sacks Duo, Landline, PLAY, Two Miles A Day, 40Twenty, and trioTrio.  As a side person, Jacob is a current member of the Dan Weiss Trio, Eivind Opsvik’s Overseas, the Hank Roberts Trio and Sextet, Okkyung Lee’s Yeo-Neun, Mike McGinnis + 9, Ohad Talmor’s NewsReel, and the Gonçalo Marques Quartet.  

Universally esteemed as an educator, Jacob has synthesized his experiences as a creative performing musician and artist with his experiences as a student of Sophia Rosoff, Garry Dial, and Mark Kieswetter. His approach to balancing and blending the teaching of musicianship with the development of individual creativity has been acclaimed worldwide.

Jacob has led masterclasses both domestically and internationally at institutions such as Manhattan School Of Music, University of Michigan, University of Toronto, Humber College, Porto Conservatory, Birmingham Convervatoire, and AMR Geneva.  In addition to leading masterclasses, Jacob teaches for the New School, and teaches lessons, classes, and ensembles in his private practice in Brooklyn.

Jacob Sacks Press

A 2020 profile by Bill Milkowski for Downbeat Magazine: https://downbeat.com/news/detail/jacob-sacks-sparks-creative-spirit

Our 2014 Carnegie Hall Concert was reviewed by Nate Chinen of the New York Times:
http://nyti.ms/1mB0JkE

Profiled in Cicily Janus’ book “The New Face Of Jazz”
information on how to order can be found at amazon:
The New Face of Jazz

Reviews of the album 40Twenty
a very nice review @ New York Times by Nate Chinen
Monique Avakian
Jon Ross in Downbeat Magazine

Review quotes for the album Two Miles A Day: https://www.loyallabel.com/jacob-sackseivind-opsvikmat-maneripaul-motian-two-miles-a-day