What does Bob Dylan, Daniel Lanois, Tom Waits, Jay McShann, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, John Hammond, Eddy « The Chief » Clearwater, Billy Boy Arnold, Joe Louis Walker, Zuzu Bollin, Billy Price, Otis Clay, Sunny Crownover, Bryan Lee, Al Basile, Herb Ellis, Ronnie Earl, Ruth Brown, Johnny Adams, Pinetop Perkins, Snooky Pryor, Al Copley, Todd Sharpville, Tony Z, Rosco Gordon, the late Jimmy Witherspoon, Dr. John, Maria Muldaur, Roomful of Blues, and the Canadian band The Rockin’ Highliners all have in common? Our next guest! A guitarist, “Bandleader”, composer, singer, music producer, studio musician and an exceptional performer of The Blues in all of it’s variables, each and all of these names have worked either in studio or on stage, with this man, this legend on the International Blues scene. A 50 year career, 90 albums featuring his name, En route to present a show at Quebec City’s Grand Theatre and just prior to his show tour in Eastern Europe, the twice nominated to the Grammy Awards, four times recipient of the Blues Music Awards’ Guitarist of the Year title and triple Maple Blues Award’s "Best International Blues Artist” recipient, will be with us first at Viree Blues Moosehead one night only.
Born Michael John Robillard in 1948 in Rhode Island, «Duke» Robillard is a brilliant Blues guitarist and singer who founded Roomful of Blues, who has been a member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, who recorded some 30 solo albums on top of getting his name on some 60 more! The versatile Duke Robillard masters the Blues as well as the jazz, the rock and the swing.
"One of the great guitar players" according to BB King, "A Guitar God " according to The Houston Post and "soloist of stunning force and originality." according to the New York Times, he’s considered the worthy heir to the great T-Bone Walker. But this never went up to his head! He’s still on the road, still performing more than 250 nights a year, proving night after night that his strong talent brings people out to enjoy the show and dance to the sound of The Blues.
Duke Robillard was fascinated by the intrinsic links between the jazz, the swing and the blues when he put together his very first band in high school. In 1967, the famous band “Roomful of Blues” was born and already, at that time, got to accompany two of his idols: Big Joe Turner and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson on CD and on stage. Always ahead of his time, his first band predicts the renewed trend for Jump Blues more than a decade before it’s full comeback. That was all brought together more than 20 years later by the recording of a set of Big Band classics of the `30s and `40s with jazz sax master, Scott Hamilton. Roomful of Blues, still active on stage after more than 40 years has been Duke Robillard’s introduction to the general public prior to his leaving, twelve years later, to join for a while and two albums, the King of Rockabilly, Robert Gordon and The Legendary Blues Band (a band of former musicians of the Muddy Waters’ band that we could hear in The Blues Brothers production), just before joining the famous band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, to replace Jimmy Vaughan; But in the meantime, he always kept his solo career on the move.
Duke Robillard, one of the very few Bluesmen to master every facet of the Blues spectrum easily moving from the Texas style to the Kansas City Blues to Chicago's West Side Blues; A true straight link between the Good-Old-Blues and the Experimental style of Blues. The guitar master will be performing with Bruce Bears on keyboards, Brad Hallen on bass and Mark Teixera on drums. The famous Duke Robillard will be performing at the 25th edition of Viree Blues Moosehead on Wednesday October 11th 2017, around 8h00 p.m. at the also famous Bar Le Petit Chicago, 50 Promenade du Portage, in Old-Hull. Such a specially beautiful midweek break to relax and fully regenerate! Tickets are now on sale at: www.vireeblues.ca and will be available at the door always for 20$ only. You can also take advantage of our practical, profitable and so pleasant Dinner & Show package at Chez Fatima (www.chezfatima.ca), the #1 restaurant in the Outaouais according to TripAdvisor, with it’s excellent and generous Moroccan cuisine, one block away from Le Petit Chicago, which will also reserve assigned places at the show, by making reservations at (819)771-7568. In the meantime, you can get some information on our featured guests by visiting: www.dukerobillard.com . You should also visit our own site where you will find the line-up for the 25th edition of Viree Blues Moosehead, as well as links to all the sites of our guests and lots of other most interesting information at: www.vireeblues.ca . For inquiries, please do reach us at: info@vireeblues.ca . And make absolutely sure to get all the latest communications on that show by taking part in it’s facebook event at: www.facebook.com/events/1321139471329603/ . You should as well make sure to join and like us on our facebook page at: www.facebook.com/vireeblues .
