Duke Robillard And His Dames Of Rhythm

Duke Robillard
And His Dames Of Rhythm
M.C. Records

This new release from Duke Robillard is a bucket item dream come true with him on acoustic arch-top guitar and occasional vocals along with his rhythm section of Bruce Bears on keyboards (with Kelley Hunt subbing on three tracks); Brad Hallen on bass; and Mark Teixeira on drums. There is also a horn section including regular collaborators Billy Novick on clarinet and alto saxophone; Rich Lataille on alto and tenor saxophone and clarinet; Carl Querfurth on trombone; and from Vince Giordano's Nighthawks, Jon Erik Kellso on trumpet and Andy Stein on violin, with arrangements mostly from Novick or Kellso. With these players, Duke has a program of songs form the twenties and the early thirties with the dames of Rhythm, Sunny Crownover, Kelley Hunt, Elizabeth McGovern, Maria Muldaur, Madeleine Peyroux and Catherine Russell handling the bulk of the vocals with Duke adding a couple.

The general tenor of the music here is early and pre-bop swing jazz as opposed to the jump blues of much of Duke's recordings. The music is handsomely played and the ambience is not far from that of Giordano's Nighthawks starting off with Crownover's bright, cheerful vocal, joined by Duke here, on the opening "From Monday On," with some terrific violin from Stein, and followed by Muldaur's wistful handling of "Got the South in My Soul," with Querfurth's growling trombone adding flavor, a lovely clarinet solo from Novick and a brief guitar break. Crownover has a naughty innocence on "My Heart Belongs To Daddy," with its light Latin groove and marvelous Novick arrangement.

Peyroux's is flirty on "Squeeze Me," however she lacks the emotional depth of Billie Holiday on "Easy Living," although she is nicely supported. Similarly, Elizabeth McGovern comes off lightweight on her interpretation of another number associated with Holiday, "Me, Myself and I." Catherine Russell is superb as always on a sublime rendition of Benny Carter's "Blues In My Heart," with John Kellso's superb arrangement and growling trumpet (along with Querfurth's similarly toned trombone) lending this sublime performance an Ellingtonian flavor.

"Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" features singing from Kelley Hunt with sparse backing primarily from Bears and Duke for the first couple verses, before the rhythm kicks in to back Mark Earley's tenor sax solo followed by Kellso's trumpet and then she leads the band on a rousing close. She also has a marvelous take on "Lotus Blossom," a number I am familiar with from Jimmy Witherspoon, and kudos to Rich Lataille for his arrangement. With the combination of Duke's guitar, her piano, Novick's clarinet, and Stein's violin, she does a marvelous rendition of the torch song, "If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)."

Duke's own vocal features include the bouncy "Walking Stick," with Kellso's arrangement showcasing Stein along with Kellso's fiery trumpet, along with the gently swinging lament "What's The Reason (I'm Not Pleasin' You)." The instrumental "Call of the Freaks" closes this out with Duke playing Lonnie Johnson to Kellso's Henry 'Red' Allen on a nice rendition of a tune recorded by Catherine Russell's father, Luis in the early 1930s. If the vocals by Hunt and Russell stand out over the others here, it should be noted that there is appeal to all of the vocals, and does nothing to lessen the delights heard in Duke's revival of some musical gems from the distant past.

I received my review copy from M.C. Records. Here is "Squeeze Me," from the album.