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| Duke Robillard Earns Grammy Nomination Stony Plain Records guitarist, producer, songwriter and bandleader Duke Robillard has earned his second Grammy nomination - this for his 16th Stony Plain album, Stomp! The Blues Tonight. The nomination is in the Best Traditional Blues album category. Signed to a world-wide recording deal with the Edmonton, Alberta-based Canadian label, Robillard was previously nominated in 2007 for his Guitar Groove-a-Rama album. Stomp! The Blues Tonight is a home-coming of sorts to the blues style that most people first heard from Robillard when he began his career in 1967 as a founding member of the seminal band, Roomful of Blues. As if to emphasize that aspect, the album features a horn section on many tracks that includes Doug James on baritone and tenor sax, Rich Lataille on tenor and alto sax and Al Basile on cornet - all former Roomful alumni. The 16 tracks on Stomp! The Blues Tonight combine songs associated with the great blues and R&B shouters of the '40s and '50s, such as Wynonie Harris, Roy Milton and Big Joe Turner, along with originals that keep the groove going. The album also showcases Duke's recent singing discovery, Sunny Crownover, who debuted on her critically-acclaimed 2009 Stony Plain release, Introducing … Sunny and Her Joy Boys, which featured a small acoustic-oriented band helmed by Robillard. On Duke's album, Crownover channels the Helen Humes classic, 'Million Dollar Secret' and 'Hands Off, ' a tune co-written by Kansas City legend Jay McShann, among the half-dozen tracks she contributes vocals to on the disc. In addition to a long series of varied releases, Duke Robillard has also produced (and played on) albums for the label by more than a dozen artists, including Joe Louis Walker, Billy Boy Arnold, Jimmy Witherspoon, Herb Ellis, Jay McShann, Rosco Gordon and many others. Besides his busy life in the studio, the Rhode Island-based Robillard is a road warrior who plays more than 200 dates a year in the U.S., Canada and Europe. His other credits include recording with Bob Dylan and touring as a member of Tom Waits' band. Stony Plain's president, Holger Petersen, praised Robillard for his contribution to the label's success. 'Ever since we met (at the Winnipeg Folk Festival) in 1993, Duke has produced a constant stream of high quality recordings, each different from the one preceding it, ' said Petersen. 'He exemplifies everything that's fine about the blues idiom; he is deeply committed to the music, and his approach to the blues combines passion, technique and the non-stop ability to swing.' write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |