Ikey Robinson was an excellent banjoist and singer who was versatile enough to record both jazz and blues from the late '20s into the late '30s. Unfortunately, he spent long periods off records after the swing era, leading to him being less known than he should be. After working locally, Robinson moved to Chicago in 1926, playing and recording with Jelly Roll Morton, Clarence Williams, and (most importantly) Jabbo Smith during 1928-1929. He led his own recording sessions in 1929, 1931, 1933, and 1935 (all have been reissued on a CD from the Austrian label RST). Robinson played with Wilbur Sweatman, Noble Sissle, Carroll Dickerson, and Erskine Tate in the 1930s, recorded with Clarence Williams, and led small groups from the 1940s on. In the early '60s he was with Franz Jackson, and in the 1970s (when he was rediscovered) he had an opportunity to tour Europe and be reunited with Jabbo Smith. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi