It's 62 today for Roomful's daddy, bluesman Duke Robillard posted 10-4-2010 - 10:00 pm
Mercy me, it's Duke Robillard's birthday. How did I almost miss that?? For those of you not in the know, Robillard is one of our most accomplished living blues guitarists and the co-founder of one of my favorites, the four-decade-old Roomful Of Blues. Along the way, he's stretched out into jump jive, jazz, swing, rockabilly, and rock 'n' roll, playing with the likes of Jimmy Witherspoon, Earl King, Pinetop Perkins, Ronnie Earl, John Hammond, Snooks Eaglin, Dr. John, Big Joe Turner, and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson as well as jazz guitarist Herbie Ellis, pianist Jay McShann, saxophonist Scott Hamilton, and that other eclectic, hard to pin down guy, Bob Dylan. All of which makes Robillard an elder statesman of American roots music. ...
It's Velvet Fog Day. Were he still here with us, Mel Tormé would be a venerable 85 years old today. As it is, Tormé died in 1999 at the age of 73, but his music lives on. And he was a Chicagoan, born and bred, so I'm happy to write a few words about my jazz homeboy. ...
The top 40 songs I want to hear on True Blood posted 9-13-2010 - 2:53 pm
Now don’t get your vampy black lace panties in a twist: this is not going to be a list of top-40 rock, hip-hop or other popular songs aimed at your favorite vampire drama on HBO. Far from it (I’m a responsible deejay, okay?). But when I decided to put together a top-10 list of tunes I’d like to hear on True Blood, well, there were just so many good blues and R&B songs to choose from that the list got out of hand. ...
The Kid from Red Bank, NJ, William James 'Count' Basie, was born 106 years ago today. Oscar Peterson's birthday was last Sunday, the 15th. Both are long gone now, Basie having died in 1984 and Peterson in 2007, but they left behind a wealth of wonderful recordings. But as good as those recordings are, Basie and Peterson were two swingin' piano players who were best heard live, and BBC television caught them together, playing this take of Jumpin' At The Woodside with the Basie band. ...
Dick Buckley died last Thursday in Oak Park. He’ll be buried today. His death prompts reflection on the unobtrusive but pervasive influence his broadcasts have had on my life. Strange, considering we never met, but you have to really love jazz to understand. He’s been off the air for two years, yet I still can’t listen to Duke Ellington’s “Skin Deep” (Dick’s usual sign-on song) or Benny Goodman’s “Goodbye” (with which he often ended his broadcasts) without thinking of him. ...
It's 62 today for Roomful's daddy, bluesman Duke Robillard posted 10-4-2010 - 10:00 pm
Mercy me, it's Duke Robillard's birthday. How did I almost miss that?? For those of you not in the know, Robillard is one of our most accomplished living blues guitarists and the co-founder of one of my favorites, the four-decade-old Roomful Of Blues. Along the way, he's stretched out into jump jive, jazz, swing, rockabilly, and rock 'n' roll, playing with the likes of Jimmy Witherspoon, Earl King, Pinetop Perkins, Ronnie Earl, John Hammond, Snooks Eaglin, Dr. John, Big Joe Turner, and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson as well as jazz guitarist Herbie Ellis, pianist Jay McShann, saxophonist Scott Hamilton, and that other eclectic, hard to pin down guy, Bob Dylan. All of which makes Robillard an elder statesman of American roots music.
Way back in 1967, when yours truly was but an un-bluesified little schoolgirl, Robillard and guitarist Al Copley formed Roomful out in – whoa, wait: Westerly, Rhode Island?!? Yup, you got it. And the New England music scene was never the same again. Little did the world know it was witnessing the birth of one of the most enduring and well loved groups in American blues.
Although Roomful started out as a more prosaic, local contemporary blues-rock band, Robillard soon transformed them into a lively jump, blues and swing band, anticipating the swing and jump-jive revival by more than a decade. Within three years, he'd added a horn section to the original quartet. Under his tenure as guitarist and bandleader, Roomful became a finely honed nine-piece ensemble sharp and tight enough to gig with Count Basie, who was an avowed fan. Their self-titled debut album came out in 1977. Here's a clip of "Honey Hush" from that same album, with Duke on the vocal and Big Joe Turner sitting in:
Duke hung out with Roomful for 12 years before moving on to play first with Robert Gordon of rockabilly fame, then with the Legendary Blues Band (composed of former Muddy Waters sidemen). He formed the Duke Robillard Band in 1981, which morphed into Duke Robillard & The Pleasure Kings and lasted until 1990, when Robillard joined Austin-based The Fabulous Thunderbirds to replace departing guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, older brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Duke stayed with the T-Birds until 1993.
That same year, Robillard signed on with Stony Plain records, a Canadian independent label that's pretty much let him record whatever he wants. And it's been good: since then, he's released at least 10 solo albums with Stony Plain and has produced and performed on others, including two each with Kansas City greats Jimmy Witherspoon and Jay McShann, two duet albums with jazz guitarist Herb Ellis, comeback CDs for Billy Boy Arnold and Rosco Gordon, and an excellent jump blues album entitled Oh, My! (1999) with The Rockin' Highliners, a Canadian band.
Although some critics put Robillard's style in the vein of T-Bone Walker, whom he certainly admires (2004's Blue Mood is a tribute to T-Bone), Duke's discography demonstrates that he can play in pretty much any style he wants, and very well, too. Guitar Groove-A-Rama (2006) amply demonstrates his versatility as well as showcasing his large guitar collection. Last year's outing, Stomp! The Blues Tonight, finds him returning to jump blues and early R&B, shining all the way. And this year's release, Passport To The Blues, reaches back to a fine collection of straight-ahead blues.
More recently, Robillard joined up with vocalist Sunny Crownover, who appears on Stomp!, occasionally performing with her group, Sunny and Her Joy Boys. Robillard was initially interested in recording an album with her of songs of the '30s and '40s swing era, for which Crownover's voice is a good match; the result was Introducing Sunny and Her Joy Boys (2009). Although the musicianship is fine for all the instrumentalists, the album got an underwhelmed response – possibly because despite her sweet, pristine voice, Ms. Crownover fails to deliver enough oomph to really qualify as a jazz singer. Ivie Anderson or Ella Fitzgerald she's not. Still, the material's easy on the ears.
This didn't put Robillard off from a second collaboration. Crownover is his protege, and this year's joint effort is a tribute album to Les Paul and Mary Ford, exotically titled Tales From The Tiki Lounge (2010). I'll stipulate right now that Les Paul was deservedly known as a talented guitarist, but he was never to my taste. Unsurprisingly, then, Tales From The Tiki Lounge won't make it into my collection, either, because many of the numbers Paul and Ford recorded together sounded very much alike, kitschy, and not at all jazzy. They're an acquired taste. Which is also true of Crownover's and the Joy Boys' renditions of the same tunes. Unlike the songs on their first recording, these sound dated. Even "Sway," which got such a fun, sexy reinterpretation from The Pussycat Dolls, is curiously choppy, halting and flat here.
Robillard's rep as a blues guitarist, however, remains intact. He has two Grammy nominations (2007 for Guitar Groove-A-Rama and 2010 for Stomp! The Blues Tonight). He's been nominated for best blues guitarist of the year eight times in the last 10 years by the Blues Foundation and has won four times (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004). He can dig down into a deep, soulful groove as well as anyone. Although his voice is nothing special, which can be said of many a blues guitarist, it serves him well enough when coupled with his burning guitar licks. And he tours regularly, to good effect and satisfied crowds. He's at the top of his game.
Here's an example of Duke stretching out recently in a blues mood:
There are those who consider Duke Robillard's jazz guitar work so good that they'd put him up against even Django Reinhardt as best jazz guitarist ever. I wouldn't go that far (I suppose that depends in part on whether or not you're a fan of gypsy jazz or 'hot' jazz; scandalously, I'm not a big Django fan, given that gypsy jazz is usually much too fast to dance to, and the best jazz bands of the classic era never forgot they were dance bands first and foremost). I like Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Pat Metheny, Joe Pass, and Larry Coryell far too much to put Robillard ahead of them, but the blues master is certainly deservedly in their company as far as musicianship is concerned. You can judge for yourself by checking out Rounder's compilation CD, Duke Robillard Plays Jazz (1997), or either of the duet albums with Herb Ellis, Conversations in Swing Guitar (1999) and More Conversations in Swing Guitar (2003). There are few surprises, but it's enjoyable listening.
In the end, it's not the ranking or genre that matters about Robillard's recordings so much as the man's music and whether or not he can make you feel it. Duke Robillard can, and that's why I love his work, and Roomful Of Blues in its various permutations. This is the stuff that makes you want to move. To paraphrase that aging rock savant Neil Young: When I dance, I can really love. The music, that is.
