Home » Jazz Musicians » Deri Roberts

Deri Roberts

Sign in / sign up and request update access to the Deri Roberts page.


Tags

3
Album Review

Slowly Rolling Camera: Flow

Read "Flow" reviewed by Geno Thackara


At first glance, it looks like an album they were always destined to make. Natural flow has been one central characteristic of Slowly Rolling Camera since the start. From their beginnings in quasi-trip-hop/jazztronica fusion, through a shift into a picturesque instrumental outfit, they have always been effortlessly fluid and comfortable with a good slow burn. They have seemed to be following a sort of elemental theme as well, with Juniper (Edition, 2018) setting down some earthy roots and Where the ...

5
Album Review

Slowly Rolling Camera: Where the Streets Lead

Read "Where the Streets Lead" reviewed by Geannine Reid


Slowly Rolling Camera is a jazz ensemble. Its core is pianist-composer Dave Stapleton, producer Deri Roberts, vocalist-lyricist Dionne Bennett, and drummer Elliot Bennett. Their newest album Where the Streets Lead is a follow-up to their acclaimed album, Juniper (Edition Records, 2018). The album presents eight tracks with a large ensemble, including an 8-piece string section and a list of world-class guests including Mark Lockheart, Jasper Høiby, Verneri Pohjola, Chris Potter, and Sachal Vasandani, as well as the band's regular guitarist ...

5
Album Review

Slowly Rolling Camera: Where the Streets Lead

Read "Where the Streets Lead" reviewed by Chris May


You might imagine jazz musicians are well suited to run record companies, for risk taking and creativity are fundamental to both activities. Mostly, however, musician-led labels have unhappy histories. Either the musician is not from the top drawer and their A&R skills suffer accordingly; or they lack the administrative skills to run a business enterprise effectively. Bassist and composer Charles Mingus was an example of the latter. But just occasionally the combination works. Trumpeter Charles Tolliver and pianist Stanley Cowell ...

4
Album Review

Slowly Rolling Camera: Where the Streets Lead

Read "Where the Streets Lead" reviewed by Geno Thackara


When you're not sure which street to take, why not take several and see where they all lead? The inability to decide might just turn into the strongest asset in the right hands. It's always worked just fine for Slowly Rolling Camera, who have always remained too busy carving out a picturesque one-of-a-kind niche to actually bother pinning down what it is they do. Following on from the superb turning point of Juniper (Edition, 2018), which reinvented the ...

4
Album Review

Blackmantis: Devil's Flower

Read "Devil's Flower" reviewed by Chris May


Might there be a better time to sit down and listen to an album whose title evokes poet Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal, has track titles such as “Lament" and “Dead Leaf" and a PR pitch that talks about the “darker electronic side" of its composer's music, and comes with sleeve art redolent of a dystopian near-future? You might think so. But actually, April 2020 is as good a time as any, because far from being a bummer, Devil's ...

Read more articles

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Flow

Edition Records
2023

buy

Where the Streets Lead

Edition Records
2021

buy

Devil's Flower

GhostLocust Records
2020

buy

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.