| Roberta Piket | |
| Birth Place: | Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Instrument: | Piano, organ |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Occupation: | Musician, composer, arranger |
| Years Active: | 1990s–present |
| Website: | robertajazz.com |
Roberta Piket (born 1965) is an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and arranger.[1]
Piket was born in Queens, New York,[2] in 1965. Her father was composer Frederick Piket. She started playing the piano at the age of 7 and moved to jazz in her early teens. She graduated from Hunter College High School.
A university joint double-degree program led to her receiving a computer science degree from Tufts University and a jazz studies degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. While at university, she took private lessons from Stanley Cowell, Fred Hersch, Jim McNeely, and Bob Moses.
She returned to Mew York in 1989 and studied for six years with pianist Richie Beirach.
Her first album as leader was Unbroken Line, recorded for Criss Cross in 1996.[3] Her first album for a U.S. label was in 1999: Live at the Blue Note, for Half Note.[4] The 2003 release I'm Back in Therapy and It's All Your Fault was Piket's first with her Alternating Current ensemble.[5] This band was formed after she acquired an electric piano to use in venues that did not have an acoustic piano and then discovered that it did not suit her trio but made her think of new types of music to play.
On Billy Mintz's 2014 album Mintz Quartet, Piket played piano, organ, and sang on one track.[6] She had done the same thing for her earlier album, Sides, Colors, which also included several tracks she arranged for wind instruments, horn instruments, and strings.[7] She was named Rising Star – Organ by DownBeat critics in 2018.[8]
The DownBeat reviewer of Emanation (Solo: Volume 2) commented on the absence of a "steady pulse, stride or walking bass" in her solo piano playing; "Instead, she establishes momentum through a rhythmic motif [...and] keeps things moving through more intricate alterations between her hands".[9]
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
| Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Unbroken Line | Criss Cross | Most tracks quintet, with Donny McCaslin (tenor sax, soprano sax), Scott Wendholt (trumpet), Michael Formanek (bass), Jeff Williams (drums); some tracks sextet, with Javon Jackson (tenor sax) added | |
| 1999 | Live at the Blue Note | Half Note | With Harvie Swartz (bass), Jeff Williams (drums), John O'Gallagher (alto sax, soprano sax) | |
| 2000* | Speak, Memory | Fresh Sound New Talent | With Masa Kamaguchi (bass), Jeff Williams (drums) | |
| 2000 | Midnight in Manhattan | Meldac | Trio, with Michael Formanek (bass), Jeff Williams (drums) | |
| 2002* | Autumn of Tears | Meldac | Trio, with Rufus Reid (bass), Billy Hart (drums) | |
| 2003* | I'm Back in Therapy and It's All Your Fault | Thirteenth Note | Electric quartet, with Bruce Arnold (guitar), Cliff Schmidt (bass), Kirk Driscoll (drums) | |
| 2006* | Love and Beauty | Thirteenth Note | Trio | |
| 2011* | Side, Colors | Thirteenth Note | Some tracks trio; some have strings or wind instruments added | |
| 2012* | Solo | Thirteenth Note | Solo piano | |
| 2015* | Emanation (Solo: Volume 2) | Thirteenth Note | Solo piano | |
| 2016* | One For Marian: Celebrating Marian McPartland | Thirteenth Note | Sextet | |
| 2018* | West Coast Trio | Thirteenth Note | Most tracks trio, with Darek Oles (bass), Joe LaBarbera (drums); two tracks quartet, with Larry Koonse (guitar) added |