| Blues Train by The Duke Robillard Band |
What the people have been saying
Stomp! The Blues Tonight - The Duke Robillard Band
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It's no secret that Duke Robillard is one of the best -- if not the best -- jump blues players on the planet. And he's no slouch in a variety of other styles as well.
From the opening title track, a hard-swinging introduction to Robillard's free-and-easy lyrical style, and Johnny Guitar Watson's straight-up "Three Hours Past Midnight" to classic shouter Wynonie Harris' "Playful Baby" (with Robillard invoking Harris' warm, sandpaper vocals), it's all there. No matter what the song or setting, each guitar solo offers up a primer any guitarist should pay close attention to -- not because Robillard is a speed merchant but because he understands melody and rhythm. And, like many top-shelf guitar players, he's taken cues from the great saxophonists.
- Michael Lipton
Been So Long - Toni Lynn Washington
"Toni and her band continue to be one this part of the country's best kept secrets; for 5 years in a row they've been nominated for Handy Awards (with the likes of Etta James and others), and we all feel that when folks come to hear this soulful and personable singer do her material and that of greats like Ray Charles and Earl King, she'll be at the top of the heap. Till then we’ll just have to enjoy her right here at home."
Johnny Ds,
Somerville MA
Sneaky Child - Threadbear Fynn
We had to post this great note we received recently concerning threadbear fynn's CD, "Sneaky Child":
Hey, Bruce,
John and I met you at Di Luna's in Sandpoint last year. We encouraged you and Mark to buy a place in Cocolalla (where we live), remember? Anyways, we bought "Sneaky Child", and I just wanted to let you know that ever since that evening we've pretty much worn it out! It's played most days, often many times. It's definitely, hands-down-and-without-a-doubt, John's favorite CD of all time. (Superceded, seasonally only, by the Bela Fleck & the Flecktones' brilliant new "Jingle All the Way" CD - check it out, if you haven't yet)
Best Wishes for the holiday,
Karen & "Neighbor" John