Biography
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Born
24 October 1979 (age 45)
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Born In
Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, France
Romain, who was originally born in France, came to the US to attend Berklee College of Music (class of 2004) on a scholarship, where he studied performance with the likes of Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano while majoring in Music Synthesis. In 2007, Romain Collin graduated from the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz where he held a Full Scholarship as the pianist of an ensemble handpicked by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Terence Blanchard. During this time, Romain had the oppor- tunity to tour internationally with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, shared the stage with artists such as Marcus Miller, Jimmy Heath, and Terence Blanchard, and studied with the likes of Larry Goldings, Russell Ferrante, Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Mulgrew Miller and Wynton Marsalis.
In 2009, Collin released his debut as a leader, The Rise and Fall of Pipokuhn (Fresh Sound Records), a record described as “an astonishingly mature and ambitious debut that secures Collin a placeholder in the continuing evolution of the grand tradition of the piano trio” (All About Jazz). The album made New York jazz critic David Adler’s list of notable debuts of 2009 and got radio airplay throughout France, Japan and the US - including a special feature on WNYC Culture program. Joining a list of luminar- ies ranging from Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea to Ray Charles or Norah Jones, Collin was also invited by legendary pianist Marian McPartland to her prestigious Piano Jazz show on NPR to discuss his artistic vision and perform solo piano.
In 2012, Collin released his second album as a leader, The Calling (Palmetto). The record was produced by Matt Pierson (Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman) and features Collin’s current group in Kendrick Scott on drums and Luques Curtis on bass, a band of “astonishing capabilities filling a landscape of incredible expanse” (All About Jazz). The Calling has been described as “a tour de force that showcases Collin’s strengths as an accomplished composer and virtuoso pianist of the highest order” (JazzEd Maga- zine), and as “a work of art that is worthy of being held onto for generations to come” (Eric Sandler, The Revivalist). Currently based in NYC, Romain performs with his group in major festivals and venues internationally.
While furthering his career as a leader, Romain continues to explore various musical genres as a sideman, performing and/or recording alongside artists such as Mike Stern, John McLaughlin, Christian McBride, Gregoire Maret, Lauryn Hill, Tony Grey (ObliqSound), Eva Cortes (Universal), Tim Green (TrueMelody) and Joe Sanders (Criss Cross). Romain has also composed orchestra scores for motion pictures including the mini-documentaries Anthem and Syria for the Malala Fund (2015), Le Bresil par la Cote (Ombline de la Grandiere’s five-part feature documentary, 2014), Les Airventuriers (two-part feature documentary, 2015), as well as numerous award-wining short movies.
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