Music is the most fulfilling part of my life. I love playing the harp and I feel very fortunate that I can do this with world-class musicians. I especially love improvising and playing jazz. Gifted musicians from all over the world come to Los Angeles. I have been privileged to form professional and personal relationships with many of these outstanding players and I am living my dream when I create, record and perform with these exceptional artists.
— Carol Robbins
Born in Chicago, Carol Robbins grew up in Los Angeles, where piano lessons at an early age inspired her to experiment with jazz improvisation. By age eight she was studying harp and eventually became one of the handful of students ever accepted by the late pioneering harpist Dorothy Ashby. One of the world’s few jazz harpists, Ms. Robbins has recorded and performed with an eclectic variety of artists including Billy Childs, Manhattan Transfer, Brian Wilson, Bjork, Dianne Reeves, Linda Ronstadt, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. Her memorable television credits include Cheers, Frazier and The Tonight Show. She has performed at the Hollywood Bowl with many artists, including Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin.
Ms. Robbins has been a member of Billy Childs’ Jazz Chamber Ensemble since 1999. In 2005 Ms. Robbins and her colleagues in the group received a Grammy nomination for their work on “Lyric.” Ms. Robbins has performed with the group extensively in the United States and Europe with Mr. Childs. In 2010 the group received a second Grammy nomination for “Autumn In Moving Pictures.”
Ms. Robbins has released five CDs: “Chords in Blue”, “Jazz Play”, “Three and Four”, “Moraga”, and “Taylor Street”. Several of Robbins’ compositions and jazz arrangements for harp have been published by Vanderbilt Editions. A jazz clinician, Ms. Robbins has lectured and performed at several Universities throughout the country including UCLA, Berklee College of Music, The University of Utah, and The University of Oregon. She has been on the faculty of the Jazz Harp Academy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Ms. Robbins also has taught and performed at Lyon and Healy sponsored jazz festivals and several international harp conferences for The American Harp Society. She continues to appear in concerts and clubs with Billy Childs’ Jazz Chamber Ensemble and with her own group.