Orphy Robinson is an award winning vibraphonist. Robinson, a multi-instrumentalist, also plays the saxophone, trumpet, drums, piano, marimba and steel pans . Orphy (an in demand and versatile composer) has written music for television, film, theater, opera and contemporary classical music. Orphy is from London, UK—an acclaimed soloist who consistently works across a variety of eclectic musical forms (e.g. jazz, free jazz, free improvisation, jazz fusion, and funk music.

He released two critically acclaimed solo albums on the famous Blue Note label in the 1990s, "When Tomorrow Comes" and "The Vibes Describes",which was launched at the world famous Montreal Jazz Festival has recorded numerous albums as an in demand guest musician. He has also toured or appeared with many high profile artists,including the famed Soft Machine alumni Hugh Hopper and the respected composer Robert Wyatt. Audiences discovered his playing while he played with the ground-breaking saxophonist Courtney Pine in the 1980s big band Jazz Warriors (which was the fore runner to the hugely successful Jazz Jamaica all stars orchestra) Orphy was also an original member of the Brit Funk Band Savanna which was where he first came to the notice of critics and audiences alike.

His work as a composer has led to commissions for Contemporary Dance companies like the Phoenix Dance for whom he was commissioned to write the Suite "42 Shades in the black"and subsequently represented Great Britain at the Atlanta Olympic Games,Has written for the English Proms at the Royal Albert Hall and for the Romanian violin virtuoso Alex Balanesacu.He was Commissioned in 2007 for the UK celebration of the Abolition of Slavery Act,where he was invited to perform solo marimba extracts from his suite "Routes through Roots"in the Houses of Parliament. He is also well known for his ground-breaking work in education with schools and large scale education projects including the Famous East End theatre The Hackney Empire were he has led the music Education department successfully for 6 years. run-on sentence

Orphy has also worked with artist such as saxophonist David Murray, Don Cherry, John Tcichai, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, Hugh Masekela, Louis Moholo, Nana Vasconceles, Andy Sheppard, Evan Parker, Butch Morris, Springheel Jack, Sonny Murray, Mica Paris, Imagination, Savanna, Central Line, Junior Giscombe, Kenny Thomas, Jean Paul Maunick, Kate Havnevik, Neneh Cherry and many others. Orphy has continued working with award winning saxophonist Andy Sheppard and regularly conducts up to 200 saxophonists for Andy Sheppard’s Saxophone Massive at various jazz festivals and other events. Robinson is currently writing albums for two solo projects that will be ready for release in early 2009.

Source: Wikipedia

Soweto Kinch is a British jazz alto saxophonist and rapper. He was born in London in 1978 to a Barbadian father, who is a playwright, and British-Jamaican mother, who is an actress. Kinch began playing saxophone at the age of nine after learning clarinet at primary school. After meeting Wynton Marsalis four years later he discovered and became passionate about jazz, first concentrating on piano and later, in his teens, focusing on alto saxophone. He attended Bromsgrove School, Worcestershire from the age of 13 through to completing his A levels at 18.

He obtained a degree in Modern History from Hertford College, University of Oxford in 1999, but decided to abandon further formal studies in favour of a jazz education after being offered a place within the core band of Tomorrow's Warriors (the development programme established by Gary Crosby in 1991 to nurture and develop talented young jazz musicians). As well as Crosby, Kinch's mentors include Courtney Pine and Denys Baptiste, and he made his recording debut - both as a performer and an arranger - with Crosby's Jazz Jamaica All Stars on their 2001 album, MASSIVE, which includes his own arrangement of jazz standard 'Vitamin A'.

In 2001 he also established the Soweto Kinch Trio - with bassist Michael Olatuja and drummer Troy Miller, which supported Courtney Pine at the former Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, Birmingham and performed at the Royal Festival Hall and Cheltenham International Jazz Festival.

Kinch has won numerous accolades including the Rising Star Award at the 2002 BBC Jazz Awards and the prestigious White Saxophone prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 2003 and 2007 he won the MOBO prize for Best Jazz Act. In the same year his debut album Conversations With The Unseen was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, but Kinch lost to grime MC Dizzee Rascal. 2004 saw Kinch win two BBC Radio Jazz Awards; Best Instrumentalist and Best Band along with the Peter Whittingham Award for Jazz Innovation.

In 2006, Kinch released his second album, A Life In The Day Of B19 - Tales Of The Tower Block, the first instalment of a two-part concept album documenting the lives of three inner-city Birmingham men. The album features narration from Moira Stuart. The second part of the album was originally intended for a March 2007 release, but has been delayed with no clear indication of a date.

Kinch also moonlights as a member of the Pop Idol backing band The Big Blue.

Source: Wikipedia

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