Juliet Roberts
@ the Hideaway
18 November 2013

Click an image to enlarge.

Biography

Roberts was weaned on music from as far back as she can remember. Both of her grandfathers were drummers while her father, a Grenadian immigrant, was the guitarist in a calypso band called the Nightingales. Their rehearsal space was at the family home so her childhood was marked by easy access to guitar, piano and trumpet. Juliet found that her true instrument was the most natural one – the voice- and started to develop as a singer in her teens.

It was in the mid-80s that Roberts came to the attention of many through her work with a new generation of young jazz warriors such as Courtney Pine and her contribution to Working Week. She was also to be heard on a variety of sessions for genre-defying artists such as Yargo and then in the 90s she recorded a string of highly successful garage singles.

As comfortable as she was in the dance music arena, she never forsook her love of jazz and got a band together with the veteran bassist/DUNE records head honcho Gary Crosby for a series of gigs at the Jazz Cafe in London. This informal induction to the DUNE family subsequently led to a collaboration with saxophonist Denys Baptiste on his Be Where You Are and Alternating Currents albums. Then came an appearance on Jazz Jamaica All Stars’ Massive. A solo Juliet Roberts album was a logical progression.