Marcus Roberts: Jazz Piano and Technology's Promise
The acclaimed blind pianist who honed his craft playing with Wynton Marsalis and Seiji Ozawa now pioneers accessible music technology while leading The Modern Jazz Generation into uncharted creative territory.
Today, we’re putting The Tonearm’s needle on pianist Marcus Roberts.
Roberts plays jazz piano like he’s lived through its entire history. His style pulls from Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller as much as it does from bebop. He spent years in Wynton Marsalis’s band, has performed piano concertos with Seiji Ozawa, and today leads The Modern Jazz Generation, a 12-piece ensemble encompassing three decades of musicians.
Roberts is here today to talk about something beyond performance. He’s one of twenty artists awarded a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation’s Performing Arts Technologies Lab. His project tackles a technical problem that’s plagued remote music collaboration: latency. He’s working to get the delay below 40 milliseconds so musicians in different cities can actually play together in real time.
Roberts has been blind since age five, and he’s used technology his whole life to access music and create it. From Braille music notation to AI-powered tools, he shows us how tech can serve artists rather than replace them. And that’s just a hint of where this conversation goes.
(The first two musical excerpts heard in the interview are from a Marcus Roberts live performance, Jazz in Marciac 2024)
Dig Deeper
• Visit Marcus Roberts at marcusroberts.com
• Check out Marcus Roberts’ music on Qobuz
• Marcus Roberts & The Modern Jazz Generation - Tomorrow’s Promises (forthcoming album featuring “Who Gets to Decide?”)
• Marcus Roberts on Wikipedia
• Marcus Roberts - 60 Minutes Profile “The Virtuoso” (2014)
Collaborators and Ensemble:
• Jason Marsalis - drummer in Marcus Roberts Trio and The Modern Jazz Generation
• Rodney Jordan - bassist in Marcus Roberts Trio
• Wynton Marsalis - trumpeter, Roberts’ former bandleader
• The Modern Jazz Generation - Roberts’ 12-piece ensemble founded in 2012
Educational Institutions:
• Florida State University College of Music - where Roberts teaches as Associate Professor
• Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, St. Augustine - Roberts’ alma mater (also Ray Charles’ school)
• Bard College - where Roberts served as Distinguished Visiting Professor (2020-21)
Major Collaborations and Performances:
• American Symphony Orchestra - commissioned Roberts during pandemic
• Seiji Ozawa - conductor with whom Roberts has performed extensively
• Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra - Roberts performed with Ozawa in Japan
• Marin Alsop - conductor who has performed with Roberts
• Spirit of the Blues: Piano Concerto in C Minor - Roberts’ first piano concerto
• James P. Johnson’s “Yamekraw” - arranged by Roberts for Cincinnati Symphony
Technology and Accessibility:
• Doris Duke Performing Arts Technologies Lab - Roberts’ grant for latency research
• Reaper DAW - Roberts’ preferred digital audio workstation
• OSARA Extension - open-source accessibility plugin for Reaper
• Reaper Accessibility Wiki - comprehensive accessibility resources
• HIMS Braille Sense 6 Mini - Roberts’ current Braille notetaker
• Freedom Scientific - maker of Braille Lite assistive devices
• Sibelius - notation software Roberts uses for composition
• JAWS Screen Reader - Windows accessibility software
• NVDA Screen Reader - free Windows screen reader
• Zoom - video conferencing platform discussed for music performance
Understanding Latency in Music:
• What is latency and how does it affect audio? - technical explanation
• Roberts’ goal: achieving under 40 milliseconds for real-time remote performance
• Ethernet vs. WiFi connections for music production
• Audio interface quality requirements for low-latency performance
Braille Literacy and Accessibility:
• Louis Braille - inventor of Braille system (originally for music)
• Braille Music Notation - three types mentioned by Roberts
• American Foundation for the Blind - awarded Roberts the Helen Keller Achievement Award
• Braille literacy crisis: only 10% of blind children are Braille-literate
Historical Jazz References:
• Ray Charles - also attended Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
• Jelly Roll Morton - major influence on Roberts’ style
• Fats Waller - stride piano influence
• Duke Ellington - referenced as model for distinct band sound
• Count Basie - another influence on Roberts’ approach
• Sidney Bechet - quoted on jazz tradition
• John Coltrane - spiritual influence on Roberts’ music
• Miles Davis - mentioned regarding editing on records
• Charlie Parker - Milt Jackson story reference
Philosophy and Ethics in Technology:
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - “moral compass must stay ahead of technology”
• AI ethics and artistic authenticity
• Technology as automated natural process
• The balance between innovation and human discovery
Awards and Recognition:
• Helen Keller Achievement Award (1998)
• Grammy nomination for Portraits in Blue
• Honorary doctorate from Brigham Young University (2021)
• Honorary Doctor of Music from The Juilliard School
• NEA Jazz Masters Award (2009, with Marsalis family)
Additional Context:
• Savannah Music Festival - Roberts served as Associate Artistic Director
• Swing Central - high school jazz band competition Roberts directs
• Carnegie Hall - where Roberts was scheduled to perform when pandemic shutdown occurred
• J-Master Records - Roberts’ own record label founded in 2009
Marcus Roberts
Jazz pianist, composer, educator, and recipient of The Doris Duke Foundation's inaugural Performing Arts Technologies Lab Grant
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 (Portrai… Read More
