COUPLES IN HARMONY
Soapbox is excited to present a brand new series; ‘Couples in Harmony’. A collection of short conversations and concerts, concerning the issues of our time. ‘Couples in Harmony’ will explore the lives of working coupled musicians in lockdown, how they cope and how they manage to remain focused, disciplined, and find the space in their homes and hearts to continue their creative paths forward. (Interviews with Tracey Yarad)
Roberta and Billy have been sheltering place at their Teaneck home. They will each play a short solo set as well as a duo set.
Billy Mintz was born in Queens, New York. In his twenties, in New York City, he played and recorded with the Lee Konitz Nonet (1978), Kundalini with Perry Robinson and Badal Roy, the Eddie Daniels Quartet, Gloria Gaynor, and the Harold Danko Quartet.
In 1981 Mr. Mintz relocated to Los Angeles where he was a member of the Mike Garson Trio with Stanley Clarke; the Bobby Shew Quintet, the Joey Sellers' Jazz Aggregation, and the Vinny Golia Quartet. He also performed with the Mose Allison Trio and with Mark Murphy.
In LA, Mr. Mintz was also the drummer for the Bill Mays Quartet, as well as for Road Work Ahead, with Mr. Mays, Bob Magnusson and Peter Sprague. In 1988 he toured Europe with saxophonist Charles Lloyd’s band.
Mr. Mintz currently lives in New York, where he performs with the Alan Broadbent Trio, Roberta Piket Trio, and Tony Malaby, among others. He leads the Billy Mintz Band and the Two Bass Band, a ten-piece ensemble; he also performs solo drumset concerts.
Roberta Piket is from Queens, NY. Her father, composer Frederick Piket, gave her her first piano lessons when she was seven. Roberta began playing jazz in her early teens, studying jazz piano with Walter Bishop, Jr and classical piano with Vera Wels. Roberta earned a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Piano from the New England Conservatory of Music, where she studied privately with Fred Hersch, Stanley Cowell, and Bob Moses. After graduation, Roberta returned to New York City where she studied for six years with Richie Beirach and also studied briefly with Sofia Rosoff.
Roberta has performed as a sidewoman with David Liebman, Rufus Reid, Lionel Hampton, Juini Booth, Victor Jones, Ted Curson, Mickey Roker, Harvey Wainapel, Eliot Zigmund, Virginia Mayhew, Billy Mintz and the BMI/NY Jazz Orchestra, and was thrice a featured guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz, on National Public Radio.
Roberta has held master classes at the Eastman School of Music, Rutgers University, Duke University, and many other institutions in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Roberta won the 2018 Downbeat Critics’ Poll Winner (Rising Star, Organ) and was 16th in the Rising Star category for Piano. In the 2018 Downbeat Readers' Poll, Roberta was voted 8th in the Jazz Artist category, 7th in the Piano category and 5th in the Organ category.
