This year, Clark Atlanta University's radio station, WCLK Jazz 91.9 FM, is celebrating its golden 50th anniversary. On May 24 at Symphony Hall, the Atlanta Jazz Festival presents WCLK At 50 featuring Lil John Roberts with an Atlanta All-Star Band — and such an occasion doesn't merit the usual "one-two."
The event is co-produced by Roberts and WCLK hosts Jamal Ahmad and Ray Cornelius, and WCLK At 50's 90-minute set list will span from the 1930s and the classic jazz era ("Maiden Voyage" written by Herbie Hancock, "Take 5" by Dave Brubeck) through today.
Musicians accompanying Roberts include Phil Davis, Miguel Gaetán, Melvin “I Am Khemestry” Fowler and Saunders Sermons, with guest performers include Kathleen Bertrand, Rhonda Thomas, Julie Dexter, Tony Hightower and Alexandra Jackson, as well as The Moth's Jon Goode as narrator.
Roberts may not be a household name, but this "musician's musician" has played with Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Prince, Elton John, Janet Jackson and many more. He was born and raised in West Philadelphia, but let us count the ways Lil John Roberts has made Atlanta proud over the years.
Drumroll, please ...
Here's a look at Roberts' remarkable career as a writer, producer, professor and, primarily a drummer, by the numbers:
19144: Not only was this East Point resident born and raised in the same West Philadelphia ZIP code the Fresh Prince rapped about in his sitcom's theme song, he actually played with Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (now better known as Will Smith) on the 1994 American Music Awards. Like Smith, Roberts attended Overbrook High School, and remembers when the future Grammy Award and Oscar winner would come back to school, "driving around in his Trans Am [sports car]."
April 10, 1974: WCLK Jazz 91.9 FM began broadcasting from Clark Atlanta University. Decades would pass before listeners would hear Roberts on the dial. (But we're getting ahead of ourselves, here.)
Club 112: As Roberts remembers it, one night when he was playing at the then-Cheshire Bridge Road lounge (Diamonds and Pearls) carved out from the renowned, strip mall-engulfing 112, "I met two people who had an incredible impact on my life — Jason Orr and Ken Batie." Orr may be best known as the founder of the one-stop arts festival FunkJazz Kafe, while Batie was the co-host of popular WCLK show "Hot Ice." It was Batie who welcomed Roberts onto the airwaves, while the traveling musician became a friend and frequent occupant of Orr's couch.
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91.9: "What I love about CLK is not just the love they showed me, early on, but when I first heard it, it just sounded free. It felt like Philly, It was like, welcoming me here."
64 Third St.: In the mid to late '90s, the squat venue there behind the Varsity was the center of Atlanta's live R&B, hip-hop, soul, spoken word and funk scene. Yin Yang Cafe welcomed Erykah Badu when she made debut and served as the honing ground for local favorites India Arie, Donnie and Joi. Lil John & The Chronicle was the house band for much of it.
Sixteen-years-old: When you're that age performing with Christian McBride and Joey DeFrancesco as part of Wynton Marsalis's Duke Ellington Orchestra, yes, Roberts was understandably touted as a child prodigy. He received a full scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in 1991, In 2021, John was hired as a professor there.
Top 3 reasons he moved here (and has stayed)" "First, the culture," said Roberts. "Blacks always seemed to be doing well here...It also really felt like it supported being entrepreneurial. There's a lot of creative and innovative people who've made it from the ground up."
"And to be honest, this city has some beautiful woman. There are some fine women in Atlanta. I remember when I first got here, feeling like every where I looked there was a pretty Black woman. And I had been everywhere — east coast, west coast. Nothing like Atlanta."
Two decades: That's how long he accompanied pop superstar, Janet Jackson; on the Janet Tour, Velvet Rope Tour, Rock Witchu Tour, Unbreakable World Tour and her State of the World Tour. (And he was barely two decades old — 23 — when that started.)
That one time he and Atlanta rapper Lil Jon were at State Farm Arena together: "It was so funny, we were at the Dave Chappelle show," Roberts said. "And on the sign they had it spelled like mine, not his." (For clarity, Lil Jon is short for Jonathan Smith, his given name. John Roberts has been called Lil Jon since he was a kid, because he is a junior.)
"So I'm pretty sure I was called Lil John first," Roberts laughed. "I don't even introduce myself as that...When you hit 50 you shouldn't be 'Lil' anything. Just 'John' is good."
With a professional resume like his, great fairly qualifies, too.
