Marthas Vineyard Film Center Hosts Rare Live-Film Show of Latin Jazz Drummer Robby Ameen

At the foot of a hill in Chilmark, New York’s drummer Robby Ameen is preparing for a one‑of‑a‑kind event at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center. The Filmusic Festival, running from June 25 to 28, will feature Ameen twice in a single evening: first as the star of a 20‑minute concert film, then onstage for a live set followed by a Q&A.

The film, Robby Ameen Live at the Poster Museum, captures the drummer and his Latin‑jazz quintet in a New York City gallery that hosted a series of concerts during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The same group—trombonist Conrad Herwig, tenor saxophonist Troy Roberts, bassist Lincoln Goines and keyboardist Edsel Gomez—has performed together for decades. Ameen, who has recorded with Ruben Blades, Paul Simon, Jack Bruce and Kip Hanrahan, rarely plays in public on the island, making this Friday’s appearance a rare treat for local fans.

Ameen’s career began in New Haven, Conn., where he learned to drum from a makeshift kit built out of empty Bremner Wafers cracker canisters and inner tubes. His lifelong friend Nelson Hume, who directed the film and also vacations in Chilmark, recalls the early summer when Ameen first turned Hume on to the instrument. “Once [he] turned me on to that, I made drums because it just seemed so cool,” Hume said.

Ameen’s parents, who were not musicians, encouraged his practice. He would stay at home in Menemsha practicing for six or seven hours, much to neighbors’ annoyance. An elderly sculptor living nearby negotiated a practice schedule that respected both parties, a story Ameen recalls with humor.

By age 12, Ameen was playing in a New Haven civic orchestra, performing Edgard Varese’s Ionisation under conductor Nicolas Slonimsky, a mentor to Frank Zappa and John Coltrane. He also attended Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, where he met trombonist Conrad Herwig, who appears in the film.

In his mid‑teens, Ameen cold‑called free‑jazz drummer Ed Blackwell, then teaching at Wesleyan University, and became his student. Blackwell’s lessons emphasized rhythmic movement and unconventional stick techniques. Ameen said, “He’d give me these exercises, like he’s trying to make you dance on the drums.”

Ameen began playing professionally in his teens and moved to New York at the turn of the 1980s while finishing a literature degree at Yale. He went from street performances and commercial jingles to becoming the first percussionist in Ruben Blades’ groundbreaking Latin group Seis del Solar in the mid‑1980s. He later toured worldwide and co‑led the Grammy‑winning band. Ameen’s discography includes work with Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Swallow, Eddie Palmieri, Mongo Santamaria and Hilton Ruiz.

The Poster Museum concerts were born after the pandemic’s strictest lockdowns ended but before New York’s jazz clubs reopened. Gallery owner Philip Williams suggested the idea: “What about doing some music here, since all the clubs are closed?” The concerts charged $20 and offered free wine, drawing audiences hungry for live music.

The film was shot on a single night in February 2024 with three cameras, weaving among tables, chairs and instruments in the tight quarters of Philip Williams Posters on Chambers Street. Director Nelson Hume noted the intimacy: “You were so close, literally, and so it’s a different experience… it’s impossible not to just be thrilled by that music.”

The 20‑minute film was produced and edited by Vanessa Gould, a musician who has directed other jazz and classical performance films. Gould also designed the poster, inspired by classic Blue Note Records album art.

Friday’s screening starts at 7:30 p.m. in Vineyard Haven. After the film, Ameen will perform live and answer questions with Hume. The event is part of the Filmusic Festival’s lineup, which includes other film‑music pairings.

For a full list of Filmusic screenings and events, visit mvfilmsociety.com.

Ameen, born December 7 1960, is of Lebanese Druze origin and is widely regarded as one of the world’s most prominent Latin‑jazz drummers. He won a Latin Grammy in 2011 for best salsa record with Ruben Blades and Seis del Solar.

The Martha’s Vineyard Film Center’s hosting of Ameen’s live‑film event underscores the island’s growing interest in niche music festivals and the continued relevance of live jazz performance in a post‑pandemic era.