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MEET THE DUKE
ROBILLARD BAND:
America’s most
versatile
guitarist and
his band
peel back the
years to deliver
a gritty tribute
to
the early heroes
of R&B
Looking back, it
was one of the
most exciting
eras of American
music. Tiny
independent R&B
labels put out
jukebox singles
with infectious
riffs, shouted
vocals, honking
tenor sax solos
and dance
grooves that
electrified
black America’s
clubs, bars and
backyard BBQs.
And now Duke
Robillard and
his powerful
band — with
their feet hard
on the gas
pedal— have gone
back to the 40s
and 50s to
resurrect the
drive, the songs
and the
atmosphere of
that distant
era. But the
view in their
rear mirror
makes the music
seem much, much
closer than you
might think.
Low Down and
Tore Up
is just that,
and while it’s
Duke’s 18th
record for Stony
Plain, the
internationally-distributed
Canadian roots
music label,
it’s certainly
different from
the others that
preceded it.
Duke sums it up:
“Basically, I
just wanted to
go in the studio
and record live
and capture the
real feeling of
the lowdown
blues in an
off-the-cuff
sort of way, the
way singles used
to be made in
the blues world
for small
labels.“
Robillard’s
regular
compatriots
support both the
guitarist and
the spirit of
the songs: Gord
“Sax” Beadle on
tenor and
baritone saxes,
Bruce Bears and
Matt McCabe on
keyboards, Brad
Hallen on bass
and Mark
Teixeira on
drums.
Producer Dick
Shurman says the
new CD is a
“rousing and
rocking”
affirmation of
Robillard’s
grittier blues
roots. “He’s
carved out a
legacy that puts
him on a par
with the greats
who inspired and
informed him,”
he adds.
The new CD is
the latest
installment in
Duke Robillard’s
long and
amazingly
fruitful
relationship
with Stony
Plain. Following
the success of
Grammy-nominated
Stomp! The
Blues Tonight
and his most
recent release,
Passport to
the Blues,
Robillard is in
powerful form —
vocally and
instrumentally —
on an album that
stands out in
his catalog for
its over-the-top
enthusiasm and
the “live”
quality of the
recording.
One of the most
versatile and
accomplished
guitarists
playing today,
Robillard has
always been
fascinated by
the roots of
American popular
music — and he’s
tackled
everything from
blues to the
classic American
songbook to jazz
guitar duets,
rock-influenced
trios, small and
big band swing
recordings.
A
consistent
producer, a
session player
for the likes of
Bob Dylan, Dr.
John, John
Hammond and
dozens more, he
logs up to 250
shows a year and
has toured as a
member of Tom
Waits’ band.
COVERING (MOST
OF) THE BASES IN
DUKE ROBILLARD’S
BASIC
BIOGRAPHY
Any biographical
summary of Duke
Robillard has to
cover a lot of
ground. In no
particular
order:
•
His legendary
playing skills
make him one of
the most
versatile
guitarists on
the planet. He’s
also a smooth,
intimate and
engaging singer.
•
The Blues
Foundation has
named Robillard
“Best Blues
Guitarist” no
less than four
times, B.B. King
says “Duke’s one
of the great
players;” the
Houston Post
called him “one
of God’s
guitarists.”
•
He won the Best
Traditional Male
Artist category
at the Blues
Awards in
Memphis last
year. And his
2009 recording,
Stomp! The
Blues Tonight
gave him his
second Grammy
nomination (the
first was for
Guitar
Groove-a-Rama,
released in
2006).
•
Robillard had
his first band
in high school,
and was
fascinated from
the beginning by
the ways in
which jazz,
swing, and the
blues were
linked. In 1967,
still a
teenager, he
formed Roomful
of Blues, and
the band was
tight enough and
tough enough to
accompany two of
his heroes, Big
Joe Turner and
Eddie
”Cleanhead”
Vinson on record
and in live
appearances.
•
Roomful of
Blues —
which still
continues, 40
years on — gave
Duke his first
exposure to a
wide public, and
when he left
after a dozen
years, he played
briefly with
rockabilly king
Robert Gordon,
then cut two
albums with the
Legendary Blues
Band (a sterling
group of former
members of Muddy
Waters’ bands).
He led his own
group until
1990, then
replaced Jimmie
Vaughan in the
Fabulous
Thunderbirds,
before fronting
his own band
once again.
THE ROAD, IN
YOUR TOWN AND
JUST ABOUT
EVERYWHERE ELSE
IN THE WORLD
A
glance at Duke
Robillard’s
discography over
the 19 years
since he signed
with Stony Plain
in 1993 would
suggest that
this is a man
who lives in the
recording
studio.
And while it’s a
fact that he has
made
excellent-sounding
recordings in
his own home
studio, he’s
made even more
projects at
Lakewest
Recording, a
Rhode Island
facility owned
by his manager
Jack Gauthier.
The task, as
always, is to
make great music
fast and
economically,
without
sacrificing
energy, feeling,
and sound
quality.
This allows him
to spend most of
his time on tour
— he’s a veteran
“road warrior”
who has played
as many as 250
live shows a
year, rivaling
the legendary
tour schedules
of Buddy Guy and
B.B. King in
their younger
days. Robillard
travels
literally from
Montreal to
Moscow, from
Brazil to
Barcelona, and
from London,
England to
London, Ontario.
Now, with his
new CD, Low
Down and Tore
Up,
Robillard has
demonstrated
once again the
freshness of his
approach and his
deep commitment
to American
music. |
