Troy Roberts is reviewed by Passing Notes

by:  Mark Hayes

A familiar figure in the South Florida music scene, tenor Troy Roberts brings a powerful sound and a more powerful musical imagination to his latest project, Nu-Jive.

Featuring a number of tunes that really allow the group -- Roberts with Silvano Monasterios on keyboards, Eric England on bass, and David Chiverton on drums -- to stretch out.  Electric, eclectic, Roberts delivers music that is full of energy and blends soul, funk, R&B, and Latin -- shot through with the ambitious creativity of jazz players.

Among many monster tracks, the most fearsome is "Oscar and the Shoe Box," which confidently clocks in at over ten minutes and features percussion by Jose Gregorio-Hernandez and notable Roberts collaborator Sammy Figueroa