As stated in The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, GINO ROBAIR is "an enormously talented percussionist, with a thorough-going musicality and an instinct for the unexpected."  Based out of San Francisco, Gino's work as an improviser, composer, and promoter stands as a testament to his dedication to new sonorities yet to be discovered. The head of Rastascan Records- which Billboard Magazine has described as, "a label devoted to the kind of improvised music that makes even the term 'cutting edge' seem dull"- Robair has been at the forefront of sonic exploration since the mid 1980's. He plays prepared/modified percussion, analog synthesizer, ebow and prepared piano, theremin, bowed objects (polystyrene, customized/broken cymbals, faux daxophone, metal), and anything else he can lay his hands on. Although Gino is often referred to as a jazz musician, he grew up playing both rock and concert music. As a composer, he has written for a variety of ensembles, scored numerous Shakespearean plays with the California Shakespeare Festival (where he was music director for five years), created jingles for radio and television, and served as music director for the CBS/Film Roman Saturday morning cartoon series "The Twisted Tales Of Felix The Cat." In addition, he has also recorded/performed with the likes of Tom Waits, Anthony Braxton, Terry Riley, Lou Harrison, Eugene Chadbourne, Fred Frith, John Zorn, Nina Hagen, and Thinking Fellers Union 282.

Gino Robair "...holds the listener captive as he oscillates between the accidental and the intentional; between the tiniest, most delicate noise and a torrential outpouring of sound." -San Francisco Bay Guardian

 "Robair has taken the notion of open-ended improv to its logical endgame; milking maximum-impact rhythms from the most unlikely sources."- Jazziz

GINO ROBAIR will be performing at the Magic City Meltdown at Workplay on Aug. 6; Barking Legs Theater in Chattanooga, TN on Aug. 7; EYEDRUM in Atlanta, GA on Aug. 8, and Cine in Athens, GA on Aug. 9&10.