Robby Ameen at World Cafe Live

Join Council for Relationships at its first ever Jazz Night featuring Grammy-award winning Jazz Drummer Robby Ameen at World Cafe Live on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 6:30PM.

This event will include Live Music, Cash Bar, and Raffle prizes. Proceeds raised will go towards supporting Council for Relationships work with our Community Partners (27-6297362).

Grammy Award-winning drummer Robby Ameen has lived in New York City since the early eighties and compiled a recording career stretching from Dizzy Gillespie to Paul Simon, while maintaining a more than twenty year relationship with Latin icon Ruben Blades as a member of Seis del Solar. Although he is of Lebanese origin, Robby is best known for the unique and powerful Afro-Cuban jazz style he has developed. Growing up in New Haven, Connecticut, Robby was able to take advantage of his proximity to New York City by going to clubs and hearing many of the great jazz masters at a very young age. At the same time, he was involved in the local jazz and latin scene, as well as later attending Yale University, where he received a BA in literature. His jazz roots were strongly influenced by his studies with the great Ed Blackwell in high school, while in college he studied classical percussion with the renowned Fred Hinger....

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Join Council for Relationships at its first ever Jazz Night featuring Grammy-award winning Jazz Drummer Robby Ameen at World Cafe Live on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 6:30PM.

This event will include Live Music, Cash Bar, and Raffle prizes. Proceeds raised will go towards supporting Council for Relationships work with our Community Partners (27-6297362).

Grammy Award-winning drummer Robby Ameen has lived in New York City since the early eighties and compiled a recording career stretching from Dizzy Gillespie to Paul Simon, while maintaining a more than twenty year relationship with Latin icon Ruben Blades as a member of Seis del Solar. Although he is of Lebanese origin, Robby is best known for the unique and powerful Afro-Cuban jazz style he has developed. Growing up in New Haven, Connecticut, Robby was able to take advantage of his proximity to New York City by going to clubs and hearing many of the great jazz masters at a very young age. At the same time, he was involved in the local jazz and latin scene, as well as later attending Yale University, where he received a BA in literature. His jazz roots were strongly influenced by his studies with the great Ed Blackwell in high school, while in college he studied classical percussion with the renowned Fred Hinger.

Upon moving to New York, Robby began recording with flutist Dave Valentin and soon afterwards Ruben Blades, who was the first salsa singer to add a full-time drummer to his band, Seis del Solar. Another one of his early recordings was “New Faces” with Dizzy Gillespie, about whom Dizzy said in JazzTimes “Just the other day I made a record with a Lebanese drummer – b-a-a-d! He had so much happening, and it keeps going, you know?”

On the Latin scene Robby has recorded many records with Eddie Palmieri, as well as having toured or recorded with such luminaries as Mongo Santamaria, Paquito D’Rivera, Hilton Ruiz, and Willie Colon among many others. Robby was the drummer at Marc Anthony’s historic first solo concert at Madison Square Garden.

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