ABOUT

Robert Black

Robert Black (1956 – 2023) was a bassist of exceptional ability and a tireless champion of the instrument. He devoted himself to commissioning, performing, and advocating for new music. He collaborated with the most adventurous composers, musicians, dancers, artists, actors, and technophiles from every genre such as John Cage; D.J. Spooky; Elliott Carter; Meredith Monk; Cecil Taylor, and had a strong interest in cultivating the careers of young and emerging composers. He also worked extensively with the Brazilian painter Ige D'Aquino; Japanese choreographer Yoshiko Chuma; the American actor Kathryn Walker; the English sound artist/DJ, Mira Calix, and Swiss-American film maker, Rudy Burckhardt.

Robert Black was a founding member of the Bang On A Can All-Stars and a member of the chamber group, Cuatro Puntos. Additional chamber music activities included annual appearances at the Moab Music Festival and the Festival de Eleazar Carvalho in Fortaleza, Brazil. Robert taught at the Hartt School at the University of Hartford; the Festival Eleazar de Carvalho (Fortaleza, Brazil); New Music on Point on Lake Dumore in Vermont, and the Manhattan School of Music’s Contemporary Performance Program. A recipient of numerous grants and awards, he received the Degree of Comendador - Mérito Cultural e Artistico from the Fundação Educacional, Cultural e Artistica Elezar de Carvalho in recognition of 25 years of distinguished contributions to the cultural and artistic life of Brazil. He also received a Bessie Award for his collaborative work with Yoshiko Chuma and the School of Hard Knocks, and was nominated for a 2024 Grammy Best Classical Instrumental Solo award for his recording of John Luther Adams’ darkness and scattered light.

Collaborative projects include a 10-channel audio/video double bass installation reflection on the Anthropocene with sound artists Brian House and Sue Huang, filmed at the Freshkills Landfill in NYC, Blued Trees Project and Murmur in the Trees, an out-door, environmental installation/performance for 24 double basses exploring the tension between ecocidal fossil fuel policies and the drive for the common good expressed in environmental justice movements for Earth rights with environmental artist Aviva Rahmani and composer Eve Beglarian. Commissions include John Luther Adams (bass quartet), Marcel Zaes (bass trio), Natacha Diels (bass duet), and Daniel Sabzghabaei (solo bass); Solo recordings include Philip Glass - Bass Partita and Poetry (Orange Mountain Music), the double CD Modern American Bass featuring mid-20th Century American bass repertoire (New World Records), The Complete Bass Music of Giacinto Scelsi (Mode Records), The Complete Bass Music of Christian Wolff (Mode Records), and State of the Bass (O.O. Discs). He recorded 25 CDs with the Bang On A Can All Stars (Cantaloupe Music) and also recorded for Sony Classical, Point/Polygram, Koch International, CRI, Opus One, Artifact Recordings, Folkways Records, and others.

Additionally, Robert was a judge emeritus of the International Society of Bassists’ biennial International Composition Competition, and adjudicated for the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York City.