During his productive career as a pianist, composer,

bandleader and educator, Rob Mullins has performed

in many different settings and styles.

His versatile approach has allowed him to erase

the artificial boundary linebetween "contemporary"

and "traditional" jazz, sounding like himself in all idioms.

 

club Steamer's, is arguably the pianist's strongest

"straight ahead" jazz recording to date.  

Certainly fans of bebop will enjoy this outing, but so too

will Mullins' longtime followers, for his wit, swing and creativity

are very much in evidence.

 

"While I have made a lot of recordings that were live

in the studio," says Mullins, "this album is my first one

live in front of an audience in a club.  You can hear the

glasses clicking and the excitement in the room."

Standards & More has six familiar songs given fresh

treatments plus four of the pianist's originals.  

 

Mullins played drums for three years starting when

he was 11 and traveled with a rock band called The Barons.

But due to some health problems, he switched to the piano

when he was 14.  By the time he was 16, he was leading

a jazz combo and making a name for himself in the Denver

area.  Mullins attended the University of Northern Colorado,

studied with George Russell in New York and in Denver started

his own record company, RMC Records.  Since moving back to

Southern California, he has become a fixture in local clubs,

continued recording highly enjoyable CDs, and has developed

into a well- respected and busy educator who has thus far

written four books.  He has also been composing for the Mullins

Masterworks Series, classical music adaptations written

in a modern way.

 

In addition to his work with his own groups, Rob Mullins has

worked with a notable list of major musicians including Branford

Marsalis, Kirk Whalum,Ronnie Laws, the late Spike Robinson,

Brian Bromberg, the Crusaders (in pianistJoe Sample's former

spot for three years), the Rippingtons, Diane Schuur and Dave

Grusin in addition to taking a recent tour of Russia with Hubert Laws.

 

 

  "I remember one night in the 80's where the pianists were Herbie Hancock, George Duke, Joe Sample, Steve Allen, and myself. That kind of stuff only happens in L.A. or New York."

 

For the future, Rob Mullins wants to "expand the fan base of

good music around the world and stimulate interest in jazz

as a uniquely American art form."  

 

When one considers how much fun Standards & More is,

balancing accessible grooves and melodies with spontaneous

creativity, it is obvious that the pianist  is uniquely qualified

to achieve his goals."-Scott Yanow