In 2007, Romain Collin graduated from the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz where he held a Full Scholarship as the pianist of an ensemble hand picked by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Terence Blanchard. During his studies Romain had the opportunity to tour with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter in India (’07) and Vietnam (’05). US performances with the Monk Institute band included a concert at The Kennedy Center (’06) hosted by Quincy Jones and featuring Stevie Wonder, Patty Austin and Ron Carter amongst numerous others. At the Institute Romain also studied/shared the stage with artists such as Marcus Miller, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard and Charlie Haden. It was during this time that Romain formed his trio and recorded his debut album, “The Rise and Fall of Pipokuhn”.
Romain, who was born in France, came to the US to attend the world-renowned Berklee College of Music on a Scholarship, where he studied jazz performance with the likes of Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano whilst majoring in Music Synthesis. During his studies Romain was recognized by the College with the highly coveted Joe Zawinul Award for Music Synthesis, and the Alex Ulanowski Scholarship for Composition. Whilst at Berklee the young pianist performed with legendary drummer Kenwood Dennard, Keyboardist/Composer George Duke, and opened for guitar great John Scofield. It was during his senior year that Romain co-produced the acclaimed debut album “Moving” by prodigious bassist Tony Grey (John McLaughlin, Hiromi), with one of the tracks (“White Woods”) appearing on a “Tribute to Weather Report Compilation Album” (ESC Records,’05 - also featuring performances by the late Tony Williams, Christian McBride, Marcus Miller, Dennis Chambers and others). Romain’s performance on the track was described by leading “All About Jazz” writer Phil Di Pietro as a “…a transcendant electric keyboard spot... A five-and-a-half star moment”.
NYC based Romain is currently performing with his trio in NYC and abroad. With his distinctive piano touch, emotive melodies and impressionistic soundscapes, Romain creates an intense and moving listening experience…