GREGG ROBINS
Singer-Songwriter & Author
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Bio

Gregg Robins has a passion for creating. He channels this passion into his music and his writing. A native of the Bronx, New York, Gregg traveled a journey from high school dropout to Oxford University PhD, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He attended Rice University in Houston, Texas, for his undergraduate studies, observing that Texas was the first foreign country he had visited. An American Abroad based in Geneva, Switzerland, he has spent decades traveling in and working with Russia. He is the father of three accomplished daughters, Gabriella, Casey and Raquel.

As a singer-songwriter, he draws on a range of musical styles and influences, from classical to jazz, and both Russian bard music and American folk-rock. Gregg started out as a classical clarinetist, performing a broad classical repertoire at an early age. As a teenager, he added alto saxophone and ventured beyond the classical stage into jazz improvisation, a passion extended more recently to klezmer, which harks back to his East European roots. Gregg launched his debut album, “Everything that Matters,“ in 2011. The album represents a journey across the spectrum of human emotion and experience: from heartbreak to love, separation to reunion, to the euphoria of an historic election and the spirit and saga of soldiers far away. He released his second album, “Snowing in April,” in 2013, which he describes as upbeat, catchy, humorous and playful, yet reflective and thoughtful, with songs about believing in and knowing ourselves, keeping to our ideals, finding true love and appreciating how special it is, and songs inspired by a snowy metropolis and by sunny islands. Later, he wrote and released the song “Not Again,” reflecting his frustration with America’s futile efforts to contain gun violence, even in the face of tragedy.  This subject was featured in his 2018 TEDx talk, which includes a performance of “Not Again.” He has evolved in his songwriting style and capability, including through coursework at the Berklee College of Music, underscoring his core belief in lifelong learning.

As an author, he has developed his craft through storytelling and humour, both important aspects of his personality and approach to life.  His two most recent published works are quite different – the children’s story, “Silenzio, Sound the Alarm!” which tells the adventure of an alarm clock with a conscience, and the political satire “A Patient Man Named Joe Watched Trump Refuse To Go…,” a collection of limericks inspired by the US elections and political transition of 2020-2021.  The common threads are a focus on doing the right thing and recognising the merits of being true to our values, as well as the healing properties of humor. Gregg’s recent books represent a new direction in his writing, as compared to his ongoing publications in the areas of business, markets, and policy.