ROBBY AMEEN
Basic Background Info
| Birth: |
Unknown |
| Location: |
New Haven, Connecticut |
| Band: |
El Negro & Robby |
| Genres: |
Afro-Cuban, Latin |
| Instruments: |
Drums |
| Occupation: |
Musician |
| Links: |
|
Biography
Growing up near New York City, Robby experienced jazz firsthand in clubs and on the streets in his neighborhood. In high school, teacher Ed Blackwell exposed him to more even more jazz rhythms. While earning his literature degree at Yale University, Robby studied classical perfusion with Fred Hinger. Despite all of these influences and even Robby’s Lebanese heritage, his speciality is Afro-Cuban rhythms.
Robby moved to New York and almost immediately began recording with Latin luminaries like Dave Valentin and Ruben Blades. In 1984 Robby recorded New Faces with Dizzy Gillespie. Robby went on to record with Latin artists Eddie Palmieri, Mongo Santamaria, Hilton Ruiz, and Daniel Ponce. He also toured with Willie Colon, Paquito D’Rivera, Gato Barbieri, DLG, and Marc Anthony.
Robby has been touring and recording with producer/composer Kip Hanrahan for more than twenty years. Robby also worked closely with Paul Simon on his show, Capeman, through long rehearsals, recordings, and the show itelf. Robby and Horacio "el Negro" Hernandez created the El Negro & Robby band, recorded three albums, and toured teogether in support of those albums.
Robby is also an instructor. He co-wrote Funkifying the Clave: Afro-Cuban Grooves for Bass and Drums with Lincoln Goines. Recently, they created a video companion for the text. Robby offers clinics around the world at events like Modern Drummer Day, NAMM, and PAS. He also frequently records for television, movies, and commercials.
Throughout April of 2008, Robby performed with Paul Simon at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Discography
| Album Year |
Album Name |
Album Band |
| 1981 | Endlessly | Dizzy Gillespie |
| 1982 | Sueno | Eddie Palmieri |
| 1985 | New Faces | Dizzy Gillespie |
| 1985 | Escenas | Ruben Blades |
| 1987 | Aqua de Luna | Ruben Blades |
| 1987 | Mind Time | Dave Valentin |
| 1988 | Nothing But the Truth | Ruben Blades |
| 1988 | Live at the Blue Note | Dave Valentin |
| 1988 | Days & Nights of Blue Luck | Kip Hanrahan |
| 1988 | Love for Sale | Bill O’Connell |
| 1989 | Strut | Hilton Ruiz |
| 1989 | Switchback | Scott Cossu |
| 1990 | Two Amigos | Dave Valentin |
| 1990 | LightStruck | Dave Valentin |
| 1990 | Jungle Garden | Dave Valentin |
| 1990 | Kalahari | Dave Valentin |
| 1990 | Tenderness | Kip Hanrahan |
| 1991 | Caminando | Ruben Blades |
| 1991 | Musical Portraits | Dave Valentin |
| 1991 | Swallow | Steve Swallow |
| 1991 | Chango Te Llama | Daniel Ponce |
| 1991 | Midnight in San Juan | Earl Klugh |
| 1992 | Love and Control | Ruben Blades |
| 1992 | Red Sun | Dave Valentin |
| 1992 | Decisions | Seis Del Solar |
| 1992 | Don’t Call Me Buckwheat | Garland Jeffreys |
| 1993 | Tropic Heat | Dave Valentin |
| 1993 | Exotica | Kip Hanrahan |
| 1994 | Darn It! | Kip Hanrahan |
| 1994 | Palmas | Eddie Palmieri |
| 1995 | Alternate Roots | Seis Del Solar |
| 1995 | All Roads Are Made of the Flesh | Kip Hanrahan |
| 1995 | Cab Calloway Stands In… | Conjure |
| 1995 | Momentum Mobile | Michael Riessler |
| 1995 | Mongo Returns | Mongo Santamaria |
| 1995 | Soundtracks & Jazz Tunes | Carlos Franzetti |
| 1996 | Primitive Passions | Dave Valentin |
| 1996 | A Thousand Nights… Red Nights | Kip Hanrahan |
| 1997 | Honig und Asche | Michael Riessler |
| 1997 | Songs from the Capeman | Paul Simon |
| 1998 | A Thousand Nights... Shadow Nights | Kip Hanrahan |
| 1998 | El Rumbero del Piano | Eddie Palmieri |
| 1999 | Sunshower | Dave Valentin |
| 1999 | A Thousand Nights… Shadow Nights 2 | Kip Hanrahan |
| 1999 | Cambucha | Milton Cardona |
| 1999 | Cowboy Rumba | Ned Sublette |
| 2000 | Drawn from Memory | Kip Hanrahan |
| 2001 | A Calm in the Fire of Dances | Deep Rumba |
| 2001 | This Night Becomes a Rumba | Rumba Profunda |
| 2001 | Shadows in the Air | Jack Bruce |
| 2001 | 21 Broken Melodies | Alfredo Triff |
| 2001 | Yo | Silvana de Luigi |
| 2002 | Pinero | Kip Hanrahan |
| 2002 | Best | Chie Ayado |
| 2002 | My Life | Chie Ayado |
| 2002 | Parallax | Rob deBellis |
| 2003 | Ritmo Caliente | Eddie Palmieri |
| 2003 | More Jack than God | Jack Bruce |
| 2003 | Shine | Chie Ayado |
| 2004 | At the Third World War: La Nimba No Es Como Ayer | El Negro & Robby |
| 2005 | Onto the Street | El Negro & Robby |
| 2005 | Crossover Dreams | Ruben Blades |
| 2005 | GRP Christmas | Dave Valentin |
| 2005 | Electric Landlady | Kirsty MacColl |
| 2006 | Live | Ruben Blades |
Noise
- Robby performed with Paul Simon in a VH1 Storytellers Special on Capeman.
- Robby was the drummer for Sex and the City during its first few seasons.
Instruments of Choice
Drums
| Drums: |
Pearl |
| Cymbals: |
Sabian |
| Hardware: |
Pearl |
| Heads: |
Remo |
| Electronics: |
|
| Percussion: |
Latin Percussion |
| Sticks: |
Vater |
Pics & Clips