Duke Robillard & Friends Blues Bash!

Duke Robillard & Friends
Blues Bash!
Stony Plain

Duke Robillard had built up such a distinguished body of recordings as an artist and producer over five decades. This latest release is another chapter in his well-regarded career about which he states is "packed with plenty of bright sounding Fender guitar a la Ike Turner, Lefty Bates, etc. Just a good listening or dancing record like the blues records I bought when I was a kid." His intent was "to make a straight vintage-style blues album with rhythmic grooves and no hook-laden songs." "Blues Bash!" Certainly accomplishes his objective.

Playing on this recording is his band of Bruce Bears on keyboards, Mark Texiera on drums, and either Jesse Williams or Marty Ballou on bass. Then there is the horn section of Greg Piccolo on tenor sax, Rich Lataille on alto and tenor sax, and Doug James on baritone sax. Mark Hummel adds harmonica, and Robert Welch adds piano on one track. On a cover of Smiley Lewis' "Ain't Gonna Do It," the band consists of Mark Braun on piano, Marty Ballou on bass, Marty Richards on drums, Al Basile on cornet, and Sax Gordon on sax. Besides Duke, Chris Cote and Michelle Willson are heard on vocals.

Duke is focused playing his Fender guitar on these recordings, whether evoking Ike Turner behind Cote's vocal on the cover of the Kings of Rhythm recording "Do You Mean It," or channeling Lefty Bates on a rendition of Bates' instrumental "Rock Alley." He plays in the manner of Johnny Rogers in the cover of Roy Milton's shuffle "What Can I Do," as well as suggesting early Johnny Guitar Watson on "Give Me All the Love You Got."

The music is impeccably played with some top-flight singing, especially from Cote on "Do You Mean It" and Wilson, as she interprets a lesser-known Helen Humes recording, "You Played on My Piano." Her vocal exhibits plenty of humor the lyrics lend themselves to. Duke himself sings quite well with the Chicago styled blues "No Time," with Mark Hummel adding harmonica on perhaps Duke's finest vocal on the album. The other players are sterling, including Piccolo with a booting tenor sax solo on "Rock Alley" and Doug James rousing baritone on "You Played on My Piano."

The rest of the ten tracks are as entertaining and well-played with a special salute to the jazzy atmospheric instrumental "Just Chillin'" that closes this latest outstanding recording from Duke Robillard.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is "Do You Mean It!" from Blues Bash!"