It seems odd that trombonist Fred Robinson had such a long life, for he is chiefly remembered for his work with Louis Armstrong from 1928-29, particularly the recordings with Armstrong's Savoy Ballroom Five. Robinson started playing trombone while in high school. After studying in Ohio at the Dana Musical Institute and freelancing, he moved to Chicago in 1927, where he worked with Carroll Dickerson's Orchestra -- an ensemble that Armstrong soon joined. Robinson was on quite a few of Satch's 1928 records and nearly all the ones with Earl Hines, taking a much more subservient role than Kid Ory had with Armstrong from 1925-27 (although Robinson did have some short solos). He continued working with Armstrong the following year and traveled to New York as part of Armstrong's big band. The trombonist then had associations with many orchestras including Edgar Hayes, Marion Hardy (1931), Charlie Turner's Arcadians, Don Redman (1931-33), Benny Carter (1933), four stints with Fletcher Henderson (1935, 1938, 1939 and 1941), Jelly Roll Morton (with whom he recorded in 1939), Andy Kirk (1939-40), George James (1943) and Cab Calloway (1944-45). Although part of jazz history, Robinson did not have many opportunities to solo with any of these groups; he mostly played in the background. Later associations included Sy Oliver (off and on from 1946-50) and Noble Sissle (1950-51) plus a lot of freelancing. Robinson, who never led his own record date, stopped being a full-time player by the mid-1950s (becoming a subway worker) although he occasionally gigged into the 1960s. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi