Robert Burke was the instigator and has been the coordinator of Jazz and Popular Studies at Monash since 2002. From 2011 – 2014, Rob was Head of the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music

Robert Burke has enjoyed a diverse and wide-ranging career as a performer, composer and educator in music. Although classically trained on the clarinet and saxophones, his main focus as a performer has been in jazz and popular music, including eight years performing and composing with Kate Ceberano (including a top-ten Australian hit) and fifteen years with ARIA award-winning band The Black Sorrows. Rob has performed on and contributed compositions to over 200 CDs by groups ranging from pop acts such as John Farnham, Ice House, Real Life, Vika and Linda Bull, to contemporary jazz projects with leading artists including Tony Gould, Tony Floyd, Doug De Vries, Slava Gregorian, Geoff Hughes, Nick Haywood, Stephen Magnusson, Don Burrows, Tony Floyd and Mike Nock.

Rob has performed /recorded with many international jazz artists including Kenny Werner, Mark Helias, Nasheet Waits, Tom Rainey, Tony Malaby, Enrico Rava, Dave Douglas, George Lewis, Red Rodney, John Abercrombie, Paul McCandless (Oregon), George Garzone, Richie Barshay, Johannes Weidenmueller (USA), Lula Galvao, Roberta Valente, Hermeto Pascoal (Brazil), Mirko Guerrini, Debasis Chakroborty (India) and Qmars Piraglu (Iran)

Rob has also toured extensively through Asia, Europe, the United States and locally, including as leader of his own projects. He has studied under influential and pioneering jazz musicians including the likes of Dave Liebman, George Garzone and George Coleman in New York.

Rob initiated (2015) and is currently president of the Australasian Jazz and Improvisation Research Network (AJIRN)

Rob had convened 3 conferences: AJIRN 2016 (Uni Melb, Monash), 2017 (Monash) and Perspecives in Artistic Research in Music  (Monash)

Research

• Performance – Saxophone – Flute – Clarinet (CD Recordings and Performances)
• Practice-Based Artistic Research in Music Performance (Jazz and improvisation)
• Jazz and World Music Pedagogy (Oxford Handbook of Education)

Rob’s research focus is in Practice-Based Artistic Research. A practising musician, Rob is currently co-writing a book on Practice-Based Artistic Research (Idea Chasing:the Anatomy of Experimentation and Improvisation in Free Jazz)  with Dr Andrys Onsman. Rob initiatedAJIRN (Australasian Jazz and Improvisation Research Network) and convened its first conference in November 2016 and in 2017 in association with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Rob is  also a member of the MSA steering group for ARiM (Artistic Research in Music) also convening  2-day symposium in Artistic research in Music in 2015,

Rob is also leading efforts to build philanthropic support for the School of Music at Monash University, with a view to expanding the facilities, scholarships and resources available to students.

'A stunning jazz album that identifies Melbourne as a significant contributor of talent and inventive and pioneering jazz on the world stage. Beautifully recorded and presented. andhellip; This record is a collaboration of some of the most influential protagonists on the Melbourne scene and is undoubtedly a masterpiece.' - Eddie Naran - Jazz on the Street.Rob is Head of the School of Music and Coordinator of Jazz and Popular Studies.

'An exciting tour of Melbourne. There are moments where you will get chills down your back' 4.5* - The Age Green Guide. Melbourne, 28th July 2005.

'There is a romance in the tracks that comes from an exploration of a stage of jazz which has pleasured many for a long time. While gentleandhellip; it is quietly persuasive of all the life, clarity and brilliance to be found in mainstream jazz. Emotional and relaxing.' Canberra Times, Canberra, 18 Aug 2003.

Robert Burke on JazzHead: http://www.jazzhead.com/cms-artists/rob-burke.phps