Ice Cream For Quo magazine

Robbie Greig (songwriter, guitarist, vocalist) cut his musical teeth in the Melbourne coffeehouse scene in the '70s, performing his originals at such venues as The Outpost Inn, Ravenscroft, The Commune, The Green Man, One C One and The Troubadour. In the '80s he hit the pub circuit with his own brand of rock-reggae, fronting the bands Spiritz and Paleface. In the '90s he developed a unique acoustic-based rock sound, and with his band The Sanctuary continued to make an impact with his high-quality original material. His work has been recognised by the Australia Council, the Australian Songwriters Association, Eltham Arts Council and 3RRR, which have all awarded him grants and prizes. His song Al Saunders’ Garage has been an ABC Radio staple, and his Wurundjeri Sorry Song played frequently on 3CR and Koori stations around Victoria. He has collaborated with Andy Baylor, Kavisha Mazzella, Kutcha Edwards, Melanie Shanahan, Hugh McDonald and the Bauls of Bengal, amongst others, and has had his compositions used in films and theatre. He has recorded 9 albums of original material, ranging from folk to reggae to jazz-rock. Robbie currently has two ensembles going, playing different repertoire. These are - the Robbie Greig Trio (Robbie Greig – vocals, acoustic guitar, Howard Cairns – double bass, Greg Macmillan – guitar) and Robbie Greig & The Wayfarers (Robbie Greig – vocals, acoustic guitar, Howard Cairns – double bass, Dene Ford – electric guitar, Rodney Waterman – recorder) The trio combines the storytelling style of the troubadour with infectious roots and jazz-based stylings. The quartet plays material from Robbie's latest album Songman in India – a spicy concoction of tales from his travels in India. Robbie's material is consistently rich in lyric and groove and served up by some of Melbourne’s finest jazz/blues exponents.

alva nelson is a pianist/composer/producer living in new york