Whoever said ‘less is more’ doesn’t know Duke Robillard.

Duke Robillard fans can always count on more, as in ‘more is more.’ Nobody has produced more albums over the past 50 years than Robillard. Nobody puts out more music on an album than Duke. With They Called it Rhythm & Blues Duke has gathered up more guests than I can recall on any CD in recent years. In this world where we have learned to expect less, Duke gives us more.

They Called It Rhythm & Blues is 18 songs and 70 minutes worth of pure unadulterated joy. On this March 18^th, Stony Plain Records release, Robillard plays to his strengths which are formidable.

If anyone were to suggest that Duke sacrifices quality for the sake of quantity it might be those rare occasions where the incredibly versatile guitarist hop scotches over to the wrong genre, namely blues-rock. However, when this national treasure lands on rhythm & blues one can be assured that everything is going to be alright.

Through the years Robillard has produced and played on a staggering number of albums. On the Stony Plain label alone, he has played guitar on and produced records which include three albums by Jay McShann and two each by Jimmie Witherspoon and Joe Louis Walker. He has also produced and played guitar on records by Billy Boy Arnold, Rosco Gordon and Doug James, as well a host of others. He has recorded a full 21 albums (by my count) under his own name on this Ontario, Canada, based label.  

Additionally, he has also put out five albums on the Rounder label, three on the Point-Blank imprint, three on his own Blue Duchess label and before all of this, he made records with the musical institution that he co-founded, Roomful of Blues. 

His duties as a hired gun are also as numerous as they are diverse. He has worked with everybody from Bob Dylan to Johnny Adams and from Ruth Brown to Scott Hamilton, as well as the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Sugar Ray and the Bluetones and John Hammond just to take a quick pass at the surface. Duke Robillard has excelled at straight ahead blues, jazz and swing.  

These genres come together in post war rhythm & blues. That is where Duke picks up his mail and has taken up residence for most of the past 50 plus years. It is why this diverse group of musical guests swing by the house of Duke and bring with them a covered dish and cook up something special here on They Called It Rhythm & Blues.

Returning with Duke as part of his regular recording and touring ensemble are long time band members drummer Mark Teixeira and Bruce Bears on piano and organ.

They are joined by bassist Marty Ballou. Ballou like Duke is a member of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame. He has played with Duke in various musical settings for decades.

The Duke Robillard Band also welcomes back vocalist Chris Cote who helps out Duke with the singing duties here on They Called it Rhythm & Blues. He is a terrific vocalist with sturdy pipes who seems to be comfortable in this genre. He has helped to take the singing load off of Duke and has been a welcome addition to the ensemble over the past few albums.

Doug James also returns to the fold. This California native and long time Providence, Rhode Island, resident is a reed man who can play tenor sax as well as harmonica. However, he is best known as “Mr. Low” for his work on the baritone sax. James has been with Duke since he joined Roomful of Blues in 1971. He has toured the world with Robillard and appears on countless albums. He is back with Duke after a decade or so with Jimmie Vaughan’s Tilt-a-Whirl Band.

Now for the special guests. Each makes valuable contributions and helps to make They Called It Rhythm & Blues such a tour de force. Right out of the gate Here I’m Is featuring vocalist Chris Cote is a jump blues shuffle which sets the tone for the entire album. It is followed by the Mickey and Silvia barn burner No Good Lover where Sue Foley trades vocals and guitar with Duke. Mike Flanigin takes a nice Hammond organ solo.

Now, it’s off to the races with one great vocalist after another stepping up to the mic and delivering their own take on this magical art form they call rhythm & blues. Highlights include Kim Wilson singing and blowing harp on Tell Me Why. This Wilson original originally appeared on the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ third album, 1981’s Butt Rockin’. Here Matt McCabe guests on piano. This is the first of two Kim Wilson originals that are reinterpretations of old T-Bird tunes.

Sugar Ray Norcia’s interpretations of Tampa Red’s Gamblers Blues and Jimmy “T-99” Nelson’s She’s My Baby are wonderful. John Hammond’s contributions expand the blues language here and demonstrate the flexibility and versatility of the blues. His vocal stylings on Lil’ Son Jackson’s Homesick Blues and Howlin’ Wolf’s No Place to Go give Duke a chance to play in yet another direction.

Michelle Wilson’s vocals are a nice sorbet slipped into this male dominated feast. Current and long-time Roomful horn men Mark Early and Doug Wolverton play sax and trumpet respectively. They help augment this already stellar ensemble.

The album closes with a Robillard original instrumental, Swingin’ For Four Bills. Here Duke again shares guitar duties with Sue Foley separated with an organ passage by Mike Flanigin.

Robillard and his decades long associations with the very best in this field bring all these talents together here on this album. Here he seamlessly and subtly weaves his guitar into these various blues dialects. They Called It Rhythm & Blues proves two things; 1) Post War R&B is a very big tent and 2) Duke knows how to fill it.

- David Mac