Woonsocket, Rhode Island, native Duke Robillard is a legacy blues artist who launched his career with Roomful of Blues in 1967, joined the Fabulous Thunderbirds, played with the Legendary Blues Band, was one-third of the New Guitar Summit, leads his own band and continues to do solo shows now at the age of 77. With over 35 of his own albums plus contributing to dozens more with other artists, Duke is a master of Blues, Swing, Jump Blues and Jazz, and has won the Best Blues Guitarist WC Handy Award twice. He is twice Grammy-nominated, has won four Blues Music Awards as Best Guitarist, four Maple Blues Awards for International Artist, the Keeping The Blues Alive Award for record production, and is ranked among the World's Best Blues Artists by DownBeat and Living Blues. As a session guitarist and producer, Duke has recorded with Bob Dylan, John Hammond, Ruth Brown, Billy Boy Arnold, Rosco Gordon, Jay McShann, Jimmy Witherspoon, Maria Muldaur, Pinetop Perkins, Joe Louis Walker, Johnny Adams and many more.
For his new album, Blast Off! with Duke Robillard and His All-Star Band, the guitar maestro has
assembled a varied but mostly very traditional collection of many of the styles he's known for, including blues, swing, jazz, and R&B. This diversity represents his multi-faceted career and devotion to preserving these roots music styles. The twelve-track album contains three originals, including two instrumentals and an exciting piece concurrently historic and new, the first recording of a blues composition written by Robillard at the age of 17. He is joined on the project by Chris Cote on guitar and vocals, Bruce Bears on keyboards, bassist Marty Ballou and drummer Mark Teixeira. Doug James and Mark Earley are on sax, Jeff "Doc" Chanonhouse, trumpet on "You Rascal You," with special guest Billy Novick on clarinet and alto sax.
When I Get Lucky
I'll Be Glad When You're Dead (You Rascal You)
Feel My Cares
Lowdown
Play Boy Hop
Confusion
Blast Off!
Stand By Me
The King
Warm and Tender Love
Galactic Grease
Look a There Look a There
