Bill Robinson, about whom little is known, yet whose rare 1963 Los Angeles session shows him deeply attuned to this idiom. As a saxophonist, he played alto and tenor, but it was on the baritone that he was most frequently heard.

Based in Los Angeles, Robinson’s career developed mainly as a studio musician, although within the jazz scene he spent a little over a year (1957–1958) as a member of Stan Kenton’s orchestra. In the early 1960s, he also appeared on albums with the orchestras of Dick Grove and, in 1963, Si Zentner. It was during his time with Zentner when Robinson made his recording for the Crown label, 'The Great Gerry Mulligan.' The band was specially assembled for the session and never performed together again.

Alongside Robinson were trumpeter Dick Hurwitz, active in Los Angeles studios and later in the Henry Mancini and Si Zentner orchestras; bassist Mel Pollan, a dependable presence in both big bands and studio sessions; and drummer Bob Gibson, another West Coast regular who also worked with Pete Rugolo and, at the time, with Zentner. Together they performed an unusual repertoire of pieces, approached in the spirit of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet [...]

—Jordi Pujol (Excerps from the inside liner notes of FSRCD 1083)