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ROBERTNELSON

@iamrobertnelsonstl

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ROBERTNELSON | Music Executive| Jazz Vocalist | Band Leader | American Rhythm & Jazz artist with unforgettable live performances. @iamrobertnelson.com

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100 YEARS OF JOHN COLTRANE. AND THE MUSIC IS STILL A LOVE SUPREME. 🎶

What a wonderful evening celebrating the life, music, and enduring legacy of John Coltrane at The Dark Room at The Grandel!

I was honored to be the evening’s featured guest artist for Wednesday Night Jazz Jam with Demarius Hicks Music, sharing the stage with an extraordinary group of St. Louis musicians.

There is something special about musicians coming together in the spirit of jazz. We listen, we respond, we take chances, and somewhere along the way, something beautiful happens that none of us could have created alone.

A special shout-out to these outstanding musicians:

🎻 Christopher Thomas— Upright Bass
🎸 Eric Slaughter — Guitar
🥁 Demarius Hicks — Drums
🪘 Herman Semidey— Percussion

And much love to The Dark Room at The Grandel, the Wednesday Night Jazz Jam family, and everyone who came out to support live music and celebrate Coltrane’s centennial. Your presence, energy, and appreciation help keep this music alive and moving forward.

🎥 Here’s a moment from the evening: Our interpretation of “In Heaven,” written by Gregory Porter. A beautiful reminder of the spiritual depth and emotional connection that music can bring.

If you haven’t experienced Wednesday Night Jazz Jam with Demarius Hicks, check it out! It’s a wonderful gathering place for musicians, singers, and lovers of live jazz in St. Louis.

The music lives because we keep showing up, creating, listening, and sharing it with one another.

— Dr. Robert Nelson

Artist Credits
Photo: Elmira Warren
Sound & Lighting: RockO
Grooming: Michaelangelo Onecoldbarber Loggins
Styling: Bobby Donut for the House of Renaissance

#RobertNelson #JohnColtrane100 #JohnColtrane #WednesdayNightJazzJam #DemariusHicks TheDarkRoomSTL TheGrandel StLouisJazz STLJazz GregoryPorter InHeaven LiveJazz JazzVocals BlackMusicLegacy JazzCommunity HouseOfRenaissance SupportLiveMusic taken in The Dark Room by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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7 days ago

Renaissance Magazines:
Live from the red carpet at the 46th Annual Blues Music Awards,
Greatful for the honor of representing St Louis by presenting in five categories during a historic celebration of BB King’s 100th birthday.

Holding B.B. King’s iconic guitar, lovingly curated by The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee

With “Lucille” in hand, I am reminded how deeply music weaves into our memories—how a single note can unlock a flood of emotion, connection, and time.

The blues is more than music—it’s heritage, it’s healing, and it’s a bridge that keeps us connected to the people, the moments and meanings that shape who we are.

Special Thank you to Kimberly Horton and her amazing team for a world class production and for leading us nationally and internationally in our committment to honoring the Blues, our voices and our stories St Louis is honored to be part of this legacy.

Grooming: Michaelangelo Onecoldbarber Loggins of Primetime Barbers
Styling: Bobby Donut from The House of Renaissance
Suit by: Blu Martini
Eyewear: Prada
Guitar: B.B King
Booking: iamrobertnelsonstl@gmail.com

Make Donations to the Legacy of the Blues at both National Blues Museum and The Blues Foundation.
#RobertNelsonLive #BluesMusicAwards #BBKing100 #BluesFoundation #MemphisMusic #LucilleLives #BluesLegacy #MusicAndMemory #BluesHistory #BBKingGuitar #BluesLivesOn #StyleOnTheRedCarpet #MensStyle #BluesAndElegance taken in Memphis, Tennessee by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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a year ago

“What You Won’t Do for Love” written by Bobby Caldwell (1951-2023) remains the Legend’s signature song and has been covered and remade by Phyllis Hyman, Roy Ayers, Boyz II Men, Natalie Cole, Peabo Bryson, Dionne Warwick and sampled by Tupac Shakur for his hit, “Do for Love”. Check out ROBERTNELSON with Freddy Spencer (drums), Antonio Foster (keys), John Covelli (horn), and The Legendary Darrell Mixon (bass) performing “What You Won’t Do for Love/Just the Two of Us” live at The All-Star Jazz Fest at The Grandel Theatre in midtown St. Louis. Rest in Power Bobby Caldwell. Experience the Renaissance of Rhythm&Jazz, Witness its Evolution #whatyouwontdoforlove #bobbycaldwell #bobbycaldwellwhatyouwontdoforlove #allstarjazzfest #legend #respect #grandeltheatre #kranzbergartsfoundation #jazz #jazzmusic by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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4 years ago

Cowboy hat. Poncho. A little soul on the ice. 🤠🎶🏒

From soundcheck to showtime—bringing the ROBERT NELSON sound to American Music Night with the St. Louis Blues.

Much love to my musicians and the tech crew who helped bring it all together. Every great show starts before the audience hears the first note.

#RobertNelson #StLouisBlues #AmericanMusicNight #BehindTheScenes #Soundcheck STLMusic taken in Enterprise Center by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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a day ago

100 YEARS OF JOHN COLTRANE. AND THE MUSIC IS STILL MOVING FORWARD.

This Wednesday, I’m honored to join Demarius Hicks and some of St. Louis’ finest musicians at The Dark Room as we gather to celebrate the centennial of one of the most important voices in American music — John Coltrane.

Coltrane gave us more than extraordinary music. He showed us what can happen when artistry becomes exploration, discipline, spirit and freedom.

That legacy still lives every time musicians come together, listen to one another, take a chance and create something that didn’t exist before the first note was played.

I’m honored to be the featured vocalist for Wednesday Night Jazz Jam and especially honored to share the music with this outstanding lineup:

ChristopherThomas— Bass
Eric Slaughter — Guitar
Demarius Hicks Music — Drums
Robert Nelson — Featured Vocalist

Wednesday, October 7 | 6–9 PM
The Dark Room at The The Grandel Grand Center Arts District
FREE ADMISSION

Musicians, singers and lovers of the music — come be in the room.

Let’s celebrate Coltrane by doing what the music asks us to do:

Listen. Create. Explore. Keep moving forward.

— Dr. Robert Nelson taken in The Dark Room by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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11 days ago

There’s something about standing in the city that raised you—with the Arch in the distance, history in the streets, and your eyes still fixed on what’s ahead.

St. Louis made the backdrop. Life gave me the story. Music gave me the voice.

— ROBERT NELSON

#RobertNelson #StLouis #TheOtherSideOfFear #Jazz #Soul BlackMusic ArtistLife STLMusic by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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19 days ago

GATHER.

This holiday season, we come home—to music, to joy, to one another. Thanksgiving weekend!

ROBERT NELSON: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
An Evening of Jazz, Soul & Celebration

📍 Blue Strawberry Showroom & Lounge
📅 Saturday, November 28

Come GATHER with us.

🎟️ RESERVE YOUR SEATS NOW — BOOK TODAY!
Seating is limited. Visit Blue Strawberry to secure your reservation.

#GATHER #RobertNelson #HomeForTheHolidays #Jazz #Soul StLouis LiveMusic taken in Blue Strawberry STL by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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22 days ago

A MOMENT OF HONOR. A RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTINUE THE WORK.

This weekend in Charlotte, I had the extraordinary honor of being recognized by the National Black Radio Hall of Fame, receiving the 2026 Broadcasters Chairman’s Leadership Award.

For a young man who grew up in St. Louis listening to Black radio—hearing voices, music and stories that expanded what I believed was possible—this moment carries meaning far beyond an award.

Black radio has documented our lives, amplified our artists, strengthened our communities and preserved our culture for generations.

As I shared during the ceremony:

“No one will celebrate us like us.”

I am deeply grateful to Bernie Hayes, the leadership of the National Black Radio Hall of Fame, and the distinguished 2026 inductees and honorees with whom I had the privilege of sharing this moment.

I receive this recognition with gratitude—and with an even greater commitment to the work ahead.

Preserve the culture. Honor the legacy. Keep building.

— Dr. Robert Nelson

#DrRobertNelson #NationalBlackRadioHallOfFame #NBRHOF #BlackRadio #CulturalLeadership CulturalPreservation BlackExcellence CharlotteNC taken in Charlotte, North Carolina by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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a month ago

IN TRANSIT.

Headed to Charlotte for the 2026 National Black Radio Hall of Fame induction.

I’m carrying more than luggage. I’m carrying the people, the music, the stories, and the communities that helped shape the work.

Grateful to receive the Broadcasters Chairman’s Leadership Award—and mindful that recognition is never simply about where you’ve arrived. It is also about what you carry forward.

Charlotte bound.

— Dr. Robert Nelson

#BlackRadioHallOfFame #BlackRadio #BlackCulture #CulturalLeadership #RobertNelson by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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a month ago

CHICAGO JAZZ FESTIVAL | A REFLECTION

Leaving Chicago this weekend, I’m reminded that the strongest cultural institutions and festivals do more than present artists—they create space for memory, innovation and community to meet.

The Chicago Jazz Festival understands that jazz is a living continuum. Across generations and approaches, the music honored its history without becoming trapped by it. From the elegance and mastery represented by Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap to the contemporary language of Robert Glasper, the Miles Davis centennial celebration with M.E.B., and artists continuing to explore the music forward, the programming made an important statement: tradition and innovation belong on the same stage.

But perhaps what stayed with me most was seeing thousands of people gathered in a public space for jazz.

That matters.

At a moment when we continue to debate whose stories are preserved, whose art is supported and how cultural memory survives, Chicago offered a powerful reminder: culture becomes strongest when people have access to it.

Jazz has always carried memory while making room for possibility. It remembers where we have been without dictating where we must go next.

As an artist and cultural leader, I leave inspired—not simply by the performances, but by what is possible when a city treats music as part of its cultural infrastructure.

Jazz is not simply something we preserve.
It is something we practice, share and pass forward.

— Dr. Robert Nelson

#ChicagoJazzFestival #RobertNelson #Jazz #BlackMusic #BlackCulture CulturalLeadership ArtsAndCulture CulturalPreservation JazzMusic Chicago MillenniumPark MusicMatters taken in Millennium Park by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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a month ago

GATHER.
ROBERT NELSON-HOME for the HOLIDAYS

Thanksgiving weekend, let’s start the holiday season together—with great food, cocktails and live jazz.

I’m returning to Blue Strawberry STL for Home for the Holidays, Saturday, November 28. Bring family. Bring friends. Make a night of it.

Joining me: Antonio Foster @tonebone1925 on piano, Eric Slaughter @ericslaughter7 on guitar, John “The Pharaoh of Funk” King on bass and Freddy Spencer @freddyspencerjr on drums.

Come gather with us. Reservations and tickets are available now.

Blue Strawberry — Tickets & Show Information⁠ www.bluestrawberrySTL.com

#RobertNelson #HomeForTheHolidays #Gather #ThanksgivingWeekend LiveJazz StLouisJazz BlueStrawberry taken in Blue Strawberry STL by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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2 months ago

Why Cassandra Wilson Matters

There are singers who sing jazz. And then there are artists who change our understanding of what a jazz singer can be.

Cassandra Wilson was one of those artists.

Listen carefully to what she says in this clip. She does not see herself as the singer standing in front while musicians accompany her. She understands herself as a musician among musicians.

That distinction is central to understanding Cassandra’s place in jazz.

Her years within the M-Base movement sharpened an already adventurous musical intelligence, while the blues of her native Mississippi remained fundamental to her sound. What emerged was an artist who could move across jazz, blues, folk and popular music without surrendering her musical identity.

She made everything unmistakably Cassandra Wilson.

Listen to “St. James Infirmary.” She isn’t interested in simply singing an old song well. She searches for what is still alive inside it—the darkness, the blues, the history, the human experience.

That is what significant artists do. They don’t merely inherit a tradition. They reveal possibilities within it that we had not heard before.

That is Cassandra Wilson’s significance within the jazz continuum.

She expanded the role of the vocalist while remaining rooted in the fundamental language of jazz: improvisation, individuality, listening and musical conversation.

So when Cassandra speaks here about death being part of life, but music continuing to live, her words carry particular resonance now.

She was describing the very nature of the tradition she helped advance.

Cassandra Wilson did not simply sing jazz. She expanded its language.

And the language remains.

— Dr. Robert Nelson

#CassandraWilson #Jazz #BlackMusic #JazzLegacy #VocalJazz TheBlues CulturalMemory WeRemember by @iamrobertnelsonstl

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2 months ago