Orphy Robinson is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist and composer, he is one of the few UK musicians to have been signed to the legendary Jazz Record label “Blue Note”. Robinson is a winner of numerous awards. In 2018 he was awarded an MBE for music services. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he has played or been featured on over 100 recordings, these include numerous award-winning albums.
For anyone trying to find their place in jazz — where should they begin?
You’ve got to own it. Own that hunger. Get better at what you do. Eventually, you’ll find your people, the ones who get you. But you’ve got to keep going. You also need to be able to understand and articulate why you like one thing more than another. Why this guitarist over that one? Why that singer? And, importantly, you’ve got to be able to tell your story because everyone’s story is different and it’s not something you can buy off the shelf. We’ve all got our own look, our own approach. Jazz is the roots and the rest are the fruits.
Has that way of thinking shaped how you lead the Jazz+ Council?
You know jazz is obviously improvisation. There’s a structure and then once you know that structure, you know what you can do with it to make it specific for you or the moment or the occasion. You can apply that thinking to anything. It’s about removing snobbery, tearing down barriers — be they social, gender or identity.
With the Council, we decided to call it Jazz Plus to open things up. Jazz is an umbrella, it can be anything. I’ve done gigs where people said, “I didn’t know this was jazz but I love it.” On our committee, ideas can come from anywhere — it’s not one group leading. When I first became the chair, I tried something new, which was to have meetings that didn’t have an agenda. I thought, let’s just see where the conversations go. And we got heaps done.
You’ve spoken before about changing the culture of jam sessions. What pushed you to make that shift?
One thing I created around 2013 or 2014 was a jam session in Dalston — completely different to the usual format. I’d spoken to female musicians who told me how jam sessions were often macho spaces, full of microaggressions. “Are you here to support your boyfriend?” That sort of rubbish. I hadn’t realised how bad it was. I started paying attention— saw how many women would hang back or not get involved. When I asked why, the answer was always the same: “You don’t know what we have to deal with.”
So I scrapped the traditional format. We brought in a gender balance — 50/50 leadership on stage, and at one point, 65% of the musicians were women, 60% of the audience too. That was unheard of. We cut out the macho nonsense. It was about thinking differently, breaking the old model. We’re in the 21st century!
How did your own story in music begin?
It started with my parents. They were encouraging, and my mum knew what I wanted before I did, but also knew I didn’t quite have the confidence. She encouraged me to go to this local education centre where she did evening classes. She was always learning something, even while working as a nurse. That centre had a youth programme — young people learning music — and I got completely caught up in it.
Years later, when I was doing well, she told me the real reason she sent me there — she was in the same building and wanted to keep an eye on me. Sneaky — but very cool.
And now, as someone with decades of experience, why does The Ivors Academy matter?
It gives you access to the tools you need to defend your work. I got that from Duke Ellington. He was asked why he cared so much about the publishing side, and he said, “Because I need to defend my work.” That stuck with me, especially coming from someone so prolific.
Too many artists have given their work away for nothing. I was in a taxi in Liverpool when I heard about two songwriters who traded future hits for a guitar and an amp. That’s heartbreaking and it happens all the time. So I say: forewarned is forearmed.
