Duke Robillard & His All-Star Band – Blast Off
Two-time Grammy Award nominee & 4-time Blues Music Award winner Duke Robillard kicks off his label debut with Nola Blue with his 12-track self-produced Blast Off! (Dropped February 20/Nola Blue Records/52:09). This album was recorded in East Greenwich, RI. & the Rhode Island native Duke Robillard plays guitar on all tracks.
He launched his career with Roomful of Blues in 1967. Then he played with The Fabulous Thunderbirds & eventually released over 35 solo albums. With a touch of Dr. John vocally, & in the brassy opener “When I Get Lucky,” Duke unleashes a delicious showcase that tugs on the ear. A little campy, yeah. Entertaining? Absolutely. Duke tightens things up with a piano framed with a Louis Armstrong trumpet thrust from Doc Chanonhouse on “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead (You Rascal You).” It seems to dive into a Tom Waits world without compromising the Hoagy Carmichael charm.
It has plenty of ‘40’s flair in its atmosphere. Duke’s vocals are genuinely nostalgic, & the deep sax notes darken the tune even more until the full-bore orchestra strikes up with all jets firing a blue flame. Cool. No, hot. I don’t know…choose one. You’d be right either way.
The compendium of songs here is about moods & warmth without sacrificing wildness. The songs individually strike nerves with their full-bodied contrasts. Martinis with Jack Daniels, chocolate with salty potato chips, & hot coffee with a buttered kaiser roll. In a word, tastily done.
Getting down deeper & grittier is “Lowdown.” This is fried in hot oil & the only reason you need to listen to Duke. Toxic musicality? Probably. Flex those electric piano muscles, shake out the horns & snap that stick on the snare. These people will go the distance.
A blue-plate special comes with the deep sax notes of “Play Boy Hop,” that’s a dancehall delight. It has that same Rockin’ Rebels “Wild Weekend” feel. Whereas “Blast Off!” has a Ventures touch. “The King” is Roseland on steroids, hot with steady jazz cymbal time, snappy fills & rolls that allow the sax & other brass to drift into mellow & stylistic musical smoke. You can almost see the New York City skyline swaying against the sky.
Mr. Robillard deserves better CD art. The package is a nice 6-panel fold-out with good liner notes on the center spread & color images.
Highlights – “When I Get Lucky,” “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead (You Rascal You),” “Lowdown,” “Play Boy Hop,” “Blast Off!” & “The King.”
Musicians – Duke (guitar/vocal cut 2/bgv), Chris Cote (vocals/lead guitar – cut 10), Bruce Bears (piano/organ/bgv), Marty Ballou (electric & acoustic bass/bgv), Doug James (baritone & tenor saxes), Mark Earley (tenor sax), Billy Novick (clarinet) & Mark Teixeira (drums/percussion/bgv).
Cover image courtesy of David Lee Black. Portrait courtesy of Duke’s Bandcamp. CD @ Bandcamp/Apple & Amazon + https://dukerobillard.com/