Marcus Roberts

Pianist Marcus Roberts is often hailed as “the genius of the modern piano”. He is known throughout the world for his many contributions to jazz music as well as his commitment to integrating the jazz and classical idioms to create something wholly new. Roberts’ melodic and soulful group improvisational style uses musical cues and exotic rhythms as the foundation for his modern approach to the jazz trio.
Roberts grew up in Jacksonville, FL where his mother's gospel singing and the mu sic of the local church left a lasting impact on his music. He began teaching himself to play piano at age five after losing his sight but did not have his first formal lesson until age 12 while attending the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. At age 1 8, he went on to study classical piano at Florida State University with the great Leonidas Lipovetsky. In 2014, Roberts’ life and work were featured on a segment (entitled “The Virtuoso”) of the CBS television show, 60 Minutes.

Roberts has won numerous awards and competitions over the years, including the Helen Keller Award for Personal Achievement. Most recently, he was honored to receive the 2024 Dorothy and David Dushkin Award by the Music Institute of Chicago. Roberts’ critically - acclaimed legacy of recorded music reflects his tremendous artistic versatility as well as his unique approach to jazz performance. His recordings include solo piano, duets, and trio arrangements of jazz standards as well as original suites of music for trio, large ensembles, and symphony orchestra. His first recording with orchestra (Portraits in Blue, Sony Classical, 1996) featured his innovative arrangement of “Rhapsody in Blue” and was nominated for a Grammy. Since that time, he has performed Rhapsody in Blue countless times and, as he often says, “each version is completely different”.

His popular DVD recording with the Berlin Philharmonic showcases his ground - breaking arrangement of “Gershwin's Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra” as well as “Rhapsody in Blue” ( A Gershwin Night, EuroArts 2003). Roberts launched his own record label, J - Master Records, in 2009 and since then he has released several popular recordings on that label including New Orleans Meets Harlem, Romance, Swing, and the Blues, Trio Crescent: Celebrating Coltrane, and many others. One of Roberts’ more recent endeavors is his band called the “Modern Jazz Generation” (MJG). This multigenerational band is the realization of his long-standing dedication to training and mentoring younger musicians.
In addition to his renown as a performer, Roberts is also an accomplished composer. He has received numerous commissioning awards including those by Chamber Music America, Jazz at Lincoln Center, ASCAP, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Savannah Music Festival (who co-commissioned him to write his first piano concerto — "Spirit of the Blues: Piano Concerto in C - Minor”). In 2016, Roberts premiered his second piano concerto (“Rhapsody in D for Piano and Orchestra”), commissioned by Seiji Ozawa and the Saito Kinen Orchestra. In 2020, he was commissioned by the American Symphony Orchestra to write a short suite of music for jazz band and strings (conducted by Leon Botstein). This short film entitled United We Play was released in late 2020. Then, in 2021, Roberts was awarded a grant by South Arts and the Doris Duke Foundation for the creation of a new audio - video project, Tomorrow’s Promises. This suite blends music and storytelling and was premiered in June of 2022. Also in 2022, Roberts and his trio were featured on a recording by violinist Daniel Hope entitled America. That same year, Roberts joined Botstein again with the American Symphony Orchestra for the world - premiere of two all - new Roberts’ arrangements of Ellington’s orchestral works at Carnegie Hall — "New World A - Comin’” and “Three Black Kings”. Most recently, Roberts created a new arrangement of James P. Johnson’s “Yamekraw” and this piece was premiered with the Cincinnati Pops and members of Roberts’ Modern Jazz Generation jazz band.

Marcus Roberts is known for his generosity as a musician, providing support and mentoring to a large network of younger musicians. He also continues to strive to find ways to serve the blind and other disabled communities, working with organization such as the American Foundation for the Blind and others. Finally, in June of 2024, Roberts was the featured soloist (along with vocalists Angel Blue, Latonia Moore, Audra McDonald, and host, Queen Latifah) at the Philadelphia Orchestra’s inaugural gala concert for the opening of the Maria n Anderson Hall (formerly Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center). Lastly, in 2024, Roberts was honored to receive a Performing Arts Technology Lab grant from the Doris Duke foundation.

Roberts is a Professor of Music at the Florida State University College of Music and a Distinguished Professor of Music at Bard College. He holds honorary doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School, Brigham Young University, and Bard College.