Henry Robinett

was formed in April 1997 by seven Sacramento area musicians. Since then, the ensemble, which now includes four regular members bolstered by guest artists, has given dozens of self-produced concerts. So far, concert themes have included the legendary Blue Note record label, Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, Thelonius Monk, Horace Silver, Brazilian composers, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, women composers, Charlie Parker, Afro-Cuban classics, Clifford Brown, Pat Metheny, Cannonball Adderley, and original music composed by CJP. In December 1997, the group began offering individualized instruction in jazz improvisation to the community. In March 1998, CJP began the Jazz Mentor Program, which allows younger, less experienced and amateur jazz musicians the opportunity to perform with CJP in a professional setting. Also in March 1998, CJP began an outreach program, bringing educational and performance programs emphasizing jazz history and improvisation to regional schools. In August 1998, CJP became Artists-in-Residence and faculty of the Jazz Major program at American River College.
The performances, programs and services of CJP have been planned and developed to meet our mission statement and fulfill our artistic vision: To create an atmosphere of respect for jazz as a high level art form, equal to classical music and other ethnic musics, and to present repertoire that is diverse and representative of the complete history of the genre.