After Baxter Robertson fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a professional musician, he found himself in a profound quandary. He had survived performing on streets and in dingy clubs, built a major label recording artist career, and now managed to support a family in a competitive creative career as a highly regarded commercial composer, writing music for toys, TV, movies, and apps, but something was missing.
“I was sitting there at my computer and it hit me: I had done all this work to be a professional musician, but I wasn’t playing live,” the San Francisco-based artist/composer/multi-instrumentalist says. “I realized, to be who I truly am, I had to be in front of people playing music.”
From this inner directive Robertson created The Tiger Club, a fluid collective of musicians playing his wildly imaginative compositions, an eclectically evocative brand of instrumental pop conjuring exotic locales, intrigue, wry wit, elegant cool, mystique, silken soul, and lush sensuality, among other tastefully stylized but playful moods. The project’s latest, Mephisto Island (Aeneid Recording Company), represents a remarkable feat. It showcases a distinct band identity threaded through a vibrant tapestry of complimentary and contrasting styles.
Robertson holds a degree in music composition from UCLA. He developed his fearlessly theatrical creativity performing in a popular LA street band from 1973 to 1976. From that fertile time, he went on to record as pop-rock artist for such labels as RCA, Atlantic, and ATCO. Currently Robertson is an in-demand commercial composer for television, major motion pictures, apps, and toys. In addition to this work, he teaches graduate level studies in harmony and music theory at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
The Tiger Club was born in 2004 from the need to play adventurous but accessible music that harnessed Robertson’s compositional skills, his sense of whimsy, and his desire to connect with people through live performance. Mephisto Island (Aeneid Recording Company) is the group’s second record and it’s finest. It benefits from a stable collective of musicians—club members, as they are called—and a well-developed sense of band identity.
The 10 instrumental originals on Mephisto Island (Aeneid Recording Company) are refreshingly diverse, spanning the quiet fire of the Latin-tinged “Showdown at Mezcal Flats,” the slinky strut of “Green Goddess,” and the jubilant gospel-flavored “Order Of The Seeing Eye.” In today’s computer-based culture, it’s a revelation to hear a punchy horn section, stately strings, and clever arrangements played in real time by a cast of twenty-five world-class musicians from all over the United States.
Mephisto Island was produced and mixed by Cal Ball for his indie imprint Aeneid Recording Company. Ball crafted a production aesthetic that is warm and vibey with a pristine, modern pop clarity. The album was recorded by engineer Willie Samuels at Studio Trilogy and mastered by grammy award-winning mastering engineer Bernie Grundman.
The Tiger Club’s live show is whole other animal. It’s a freewheeling romp with Clubbers dressed uniform, burning through originals and ingenious vocal versions of chestnuts such as “Mellow Yellow,” “Daydream Believer,” and Blue Öyster Cult’s “Burnin’ For You” which they’ve been known to perform as a scorching ska number.
Of all the highlights of Robertson’s storied professional musician career, it’s a simple feeling he cherishes the most. “It’s that moment you realize you’re onstage killing it, the audience is digging it, and you’re communicating who you really are. Nothing stokes the fire of life and creativity like that.”
Andersen moved to the United States as a 21 year old in 2001, and became a figure on the West Coast blues scene. He played in Charlie Musselwhites band and got a Blues Music Award (formerly W.C. Handy Award) for best contemporary blues album for Charlie Musselwhite'sDelta Hardware. When Little Charlie Baty retired from touring, Andersen took his place as guitarist in the Nightcats, and the new name of Rick Estrin & the Nightcats was formed. Andersen also has done extensive touring with Elvin Bishop on the Red Dog Speaks Tour. In 2013, Andersen was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Gibson Guitar' category. In 2014, he was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Best Instrumentalist – Guitar' category.
Cal began his professional career as a bass player and singer and only recently switched to playing guitar. Cal plays nylon, electric and acoustic guitars and also served as the producer and mixer on “Mephisto Island”. Prior to joining The Tiger Club, Cal collaborated with Marty Atkinson to form Cactus Choir, recording albums for Atlantic and Curb Records. Cal has also served as a backup musician to such artists as Buddy Miles, Sylvester, and Marty Balin. Cal met Baxter at a studio session where they were both hired as background singers and have been working together on various projects ever since...
Originally, from Kansas City, Eric is a multi-instrumentalist playing both piano and flute. Eric is featured playing the alto flute on “Behind the 7th Veil” from The Tiger Club album “Mephisto Island”. Eric lived and worked in Los Angeles for 30 years, scoring music for a number of hit television shows including Ally McBeal, Boston Public and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He has served as a backing musician for a host of great artists including Stevie Wonder, Cher, Bette Midler and Dolly Parton. Eric has a robust solo career having released three albums “Tranquility” (Moodtapes), “Energy” and his latest release “Follow Your Heart” where you’ll hear his most personal writing and playing yet. Along with recording and performance career, Eric also serves as an online professor at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco teaching music theory, arranging and ear training. To learn more about Eric and his music, check his website at www.ericbikales.com.
Brad Hughes has over 23 years of experience in sound and music as a composer, saxophonist, recording engineer and editor for clients including Dreamworks, Soundelux, The Hollywood Edge, and Creativity Studios. He has recorded on the scoring stages of 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Studios, and serves on the Board of Governors as a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. In 2009, he founded the School of Music Production & Sound Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he presently serves as Department Director. He has a BFA from U.C.L.A., and an MFA from The California Institute of the Arts. 
The Tiger Club is the creation of composer Baxter Robertson. Baxter trained at UCLA, graduating with a degree in composition. Early in his career, Baxter recorded several records for major labels including RCA, Atlantic and ATCO. Baxter has spent his entire career as a composer and performer, placing his compositions in television and major motion pictures. Today, Baxter continues to compose music for commercial applications and teaches graduate level studies in harmony and music theory at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Click BIO on the banner menu to read more about Baxter and how he started The Tiger Club.
Nicolo Scolieri plays flute and percussion in the Latin Jazz Big Band at UCLA, as well as upright bass with the award-winning BlueGrass Hoppers. He is currently studying Ethnomusicology and Recording Engineering, following a four year program in flute performance at the San Francisco School of the Arts. He developed his ensemble and improvisational skills with various community music groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. He toured China with the Peninsula Youth Orchestra (flute), performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the New Orleans NEA Jazz Educators Conference with the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars (baritone sax), and performed at the Healdsburg and San Jose Jazz Festivals with the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble (flute, percussion and tenor sax). He enjoys exploring various musical cultures and is currently involved in groups playing Reggae, Arab music, Southern Italian folk music, and more. He looks forward to his future in both academia and on stage. 
Bethanne Walker is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in flute performance with emphasis in historical performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she holds the Lorna Meyer and Dennis Calas Family Scholarship. She currently studies flute with Timothy Day and baroque flute with Stephen Schultz. In 2012, she was the William H. Grass Memorial Prize Winner of the 32nd Pappoutsakis Memorial Flute Competition in Boston, MA. Bethanne has participated in several masterclasses, music festivals, and competitions. A native of Eugene, Oregon, she began her flute studies at the age of twelve, and studied with Dr. Nancy Andrew, who was a student of the late Marcel Moyse; she also has previously studied with Linda Toote at the Boston Conservatory.
Ross Barber is a web designer who specializes in design for bands and musicians. With his company Electric Kiwi, he has worked with many independent and unsigned artists to enhance their online presence.
