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Rob Walker

BIO

Rob Walker has performed with many of music's most notable acts including Wayne Newton, Natalie Cole, Ray Charles, The Temptations, The Supremes, and The Moody Blues. He recently was the guest soloist and arranger for the United States Air Force Jazz Commanders tour. He was recognized by Downbeat magazine as a "Musician Deserving Wider Recognition". As a jazz soloist, Walker appeared at the 2002 Park City International Jazz Festival and at the San Miguel International Jazz Festival in Mexico in 2000 and 2002. In 2004, he appeared with Brent Jensen along with the Lewis Nash Quintet at the Living Legends Jazz Festival. He has also shared bebop licks with such jazz masters as David "Fathead" Newman, John Heard, Gene Ludwig, Ray Santisi, Gary Foster, Bobby Shew, Lanny Morgan, Jeff Hamilton, Clay Jenkins, Kim Richmond, and Mike Vax. Rob and Brent Jensen have collaborated on a variety of projects including their latest CD on Origin Records entitled "Art of the Groove".

Walker is quite active as a composer/arranger. His TV credits include Friday Night Lights, Cold Case, Army Wives, The O.C., Shark, and Ugly Betty. His Film Credits include College Road Trip(2008) and Fired Up!(2009). His music can be heard on a series of new Honda commercials. He creates customized charts for any sized ensemble and recently completed a chart of drummer Harvey Mason for his South Africa Big Band tour. He is a composer in residence with Five Alarm Music, a leading film/TV production company in Los Angeles. He begin his film writing career as a guest composer with Mike Post Productions.

Rob Walker frequently appears as a clinician, jazz festival adjudicator, and jazz educator. He is the Director of Jazz Studies at the College of Idaho. He has served as Artistic Director for the Pasadena Jazz Institute’s Summer Jazz Program and was a founding faculty member of the Jazz Saturdays Series at Boise State University, and the co-founder of the Gene Harris Jazz Camp. He created and conducted the Idaho All State All Star Jazz Ensemble for three years. He also directed the Sacred Heart Elementary School Jazz Band who performed as a warm-up act for Dave Brubeck at the 2004 Gene Harris Jazz Festival. He is a frequent jazz festival adjudicator and clinician and was a member of the International Jazz Educators (IAJE) Artist Outreach Network.

He has adjudicated various high school and college jazz festivals including BYU Jazz Festival, Park City Jazz Festival, Gene Harris Jazz Festival, College of Southern Idaho Jazz Festival, and countless high school festivals. He also appears as a clinician at various music educator conferences including the IAJE Conference in New York City. His clinics discuss jazz improvisation, jazz composition, and jazz theory.

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Book Review

Letters From New Orleans

Read "Letters From New Orleans" reviewed by Bob Jacobson


Letters From New Orleans Rob Walker Paperback; 226 pages ISBN: 1-891053-01-9 Garrett County Press 2005

Former Texan and Greenwich Villager Rob Walker and his girlfriend, E., relocated to New Orleans in January, 2000. The former journalist and editor immediately began relating his experiences and impressions via e-mail, first to friends, then to anyone who expressed interest. Here are twenty-one letters, ending with the couple's August, 2003 departure, plus some post-Katrina ...

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"...A sound that harkens to the days of the late Lee Morgan..." - All About Jazz

"Wow this is some really cool jazz...expertly played and recorded just as well." www.bandradio.com

"Walker offers an earnest tribute to musical predecessors•especially the legendary Miles Davis• without imitating them, choosing instead to invoke the spirit of the bop era while giving it his own modern spin" - All About Jazz

...real hard bopping...makes me think of Chet Baker...One could clearly find a lot of resemblance to old masters like for instance Miles Davis. www.fortunecity.com

Primary Instrument

Trumpet

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Private Trumpet Lessons Improvisation Lessons Jazz Festival Adjudication Jazz Band Guest Artist Jazz Band Coach

Photos

Music

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saxophone, alto
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band / ensemble / orchestra

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