Matana Roberts : NPR

The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+ (100-81)

Jenny Lewis performs at Piedmont Park during Music Midtown in Atlanta, Ga. in Sept. 2015. Scott Legato/FilmMagic/Getty Images hide caption

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Scott Legato/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Turning The Tables

The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+ (100-81)

July 30, 2018 • This list tackles history in the making, celebrating women and non-binary musicians whose songs are redefining genres and attitudes and changing our sense of what popular music can be in this century.

Matana Roberts' Sublime And Triumphant 'River Run Thee'

Ranging from mystic drone to explosive free jazz, Roberts digs into the dirt along the spiritual roots of American blues, jazz, rock and more on Coin Coin Chapter Three: Run River Thee. Matthew Eisman/Getty Images hide caption

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Matthew Eisman/Getty Images

Review

Turning The Tables

Matana Roberts' Sublime And Triumphant 'River Run Thee'

September 18, 2017 • On River Run Thee, Roberts immerses herself and the listener in a history of anguish, and channels it all into a magnetic unity, a postmodern opus.

Music Interviews

Matana Roberts Blows in from 'Chicago'

WNYC Radio

May 14, 2008 • The saxophonist and composer grew up in the Windy City hating the avant-garde jazz that her father played. Now based in New York, her new album embraces her Chicago roots, as well as her "daddy's crazy music."

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Matana Roberts: An Ancestral History In Music

Matana Roberts' new recording, COIN COIN Chapter One: Gens De Colour Libre, joins Live In London as her second album released in 2011. Brett Walker/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Brett Walker/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Music Reviews

Matana Roberts: An Ancestral History In Music

July 27, 2011 • She's already one of the most imaginative saxophone players in jazz today. But Roberts' new album challenges even that reputation: It's a musical patchwork spanning decades of history and memory in the lives of 18th-century Louisiana "free people of color."

Matana Roberts: An Ancestral History In Music

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Matana Roberts' new recording, COIN COIN Chapter One: Gens De Colour Libre, joins Live In London as her second album released in 2011. Brett Walker/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Brett Walker/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Music Reviews

Matana Roberts: An Ancestral History In Music

July 27, 2011 • She's already one of the most imaginative saxophone players in jazz today. But Roberts' new album challenges even that reputation: It's a musical patchwork spanning decades of history and memory in the lives of 18th-century Louisiana "free people of color."

Matana Roberts: An Ancestral History In Music

Listen · 4:32 4:32

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/138610315/138764634" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Matana Roberts' COIN COIN: Live In Concert

Matana Roberts performs live at The Jazz Gallery. Patrick Jarenwattananon/NPR hide caption

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Patrick Jarenwattananon/NPR

A Blog Supreme

Matana Roberts' COIN COIN: Live In Concert

WBGO

June 24, 2010 • For the alto saxophonist, music helps tell the complicated story of her family. She presented a project inspired by genealogical research at the Jazz Gallery as part of the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York. Hear the performance.

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