Robbie Lee is an NYC based pianist, vocalist, composer, and educator whose taste for the quirky, the warm, and the often less explored, mirror his Tucson upbringing. A graduate of both the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music, he has performed with many incredible artists such as Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Matt Wilson, Brice Winston, and Jimmy Heath.
This past year, Lee had the opportunity to tour the US and Ontario for two and a half months headlining with Benny Benack III and Shenel Johns for IMG’s Great American Crooners. Alongside Ekep Nkwelle, Robbie also performed and toured Big Band Holidays with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra back in 2024. Amongst many stages across the globe, Lee has played Birdland, Smalls, Dizzy’s Club, Joe’s Pub, The Rose Theater, and has appeared at the Bern Jazz Festival.
Robbie’s artistry lies in the branches of the Jazz and American Songbook tradition while drawing inspiration from its blues and folk roots. His debut album, Daydreaming, released this past June, illustrates his eclecticism. The album includes tracks ranging from the Carter Family to Jerome Kern to the original title track that might lie somewhere between Ahmad Jamal and Jimi Hendrix. No matter the song, Lee finds the connecting vines and heart of this tree of sound to be the story’s lyric. Finding strength in vulnerability, he invites audiences to feel and listen with their hearts and to belong to each story as it unfolds.