Robert Dick, a flutist born in New York and based in Switzerland, merges classical traditions with the spontaneous invention and technical mastery of jazz, yielding his inventive body of work. He characterizes his outlook as that of “a musician with twenty-first century skills and eighteenth century attitudes” while continuing to chart fresh territory for the flute in contemporary settings. Whether appearing alone or with pianist Anthony DeMare in their duo, his intense physical engagement with the instrument has prompted the label “the Hendrix of the flute.” During a 2000 interview he remarked, “I play the flute as a human-powered synthesizer.”
A Yale School of Music alumnus, Dick ranks among only two Americans to receive both an N.E.A. Composers Fellowship (twice) and a solo recital grant for his classical compositions. In jazz contexts he appears with the Europe-based A.D.D. Trio alongside electric guitarist Steve Arguelles and drummer Christy Doran, as well as with the New York ambient ensemble King Chubby, whose members include keyboardist/sampler Ed Bialek and percussionist Will Ryan. Additional partnerships have linked him with John Zorn, Steve Lacy, and Ned Rothenberg, and he has joined vocalist and performance artist Rinde Eckert on a theatrical work.
For the 2001–2002 season the New York New Music Ensemble commissioned his sextet “A New Prehistory.” The Boland-Dowdall Duo premiered his blues-inflected flute-and-guitar duet “Pounce Of Now” across a series of debut programs.
