* En anglais uniquement
It seems odd that trombonist
Fred Robinson had such a long life, for he is chiefly remembered for his work with
Louis Armstrong from 1928-29, particularly the recordings with Armstrong's Savoy Ballroom Five.
Robinson started playing trombone while in high school. After studying in Ohio at the Dana Musical Institute and freelancing, he moved to Chicago in 1927, where he worked with Carroll Dickerson's Orchestra -- an ensemble that
Armstrong soon joined.
Robinson was on quite a few of Satch's 1928 records and nearly all the ones with
Earl Hines, taking a much more subservient role than
Kid Ory had with
Armstrong from 1925-27 (although
Robinson did have some short solos). He continued working with
Armstrong the following year and traveled to New York as part of Armstrong's big band. The trombonist then had associations with many orchestras including
Edgar Hayes, Marion Hardy (1931), Charlie Turner's Arcadians,
Don Redman (1931-33),
Benny Carter (1933), four stints with
Fletcher Henderson (1935, 1938, 1939 and 1941),
Jelly Roll Morton (with whom he recorded in 1939),
Andy Kirk (1939-40),
George James (1943) and
Cab Calloway (1944-45). Although part of jazz history,
Robinson did not have many opportunities to solo with any of these groups; he mostly played in the background. Later associations included
Sy Oliver (off and on from 1946-50) and
Noble Sissle (1950-51) plus a lot of freelancing.
Robinson, who never led his own record date, stopped being a full-time player by the mid-1950s (becoming a subway worker) although he occasionally gigged into the 1960s. ~ Scott Yanow