Because of Al Gomes and A. Michelle of
Big Noise's strategic and publicity efforts,
Duke Robillard's CD 'Guitar Groove-A-Rama' was nominated for a Grammy Award for
Best Traditional Blues Album.

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www.dukerobillard.com
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Duke Robillard's four decade plus musical career has been a fruitful one with more highlights and accolades all the time. The recipient of four WC Handy awards for Best Guitarist from 2000 to 2005, he has also garnered a Blues Foundation Producer of the Year award in 2004, and was nominated for a 2007 Blues Music Award for Best Guitarist.

He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Blues Album for 'Guitar Groove-A-Rama' in 2006 and 'Stomp! The Blues Tonight' in 2010. Both CDs demonstrate Duke's deep understanding and love of this original American music art-form over the course of both recordings.

Duke started on his professional musical journey at the age of seventeen by forming his first band after high school, Roomful of Blues. He led that group as singer, guitarist, songwriter and front man for a dozen years and two albums before venturing on the path his musical quest has led him.

Short stints with Robert Gordon and The Legendary Blues Band (one of the greatest of Muddy Waters backup bands) led to the formation of Duke Robillard and the Pleasure Kings, his powerful blues rock trio of the early '80s. He has gone on to record over two dozen solo albums and has appeared as guitarist and/or producer on albums by artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Ruth Brown, Jay McShann, Herb Ellis, Scott Hamilton, Kim Wilson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Pinetop Perkins, Billy Boy Arnold, Roscoe Gordon, The Fabulous Thunderbirds (whose guitarist Jimmie Vaughn he replaced from 1990 to 1992), John Hammond, Debbie Davies, Bryan Lee, Mark Hummel, Bruce Katz and the list goes on and on.

In 1986, Duke cut an album with old friend and world class tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton called 'Swing' which was a favorite with critics and fans alike. It inspired and influenced many of the new swing craze bands of the early '90s. His collaborations with master jazz guitarist Herb Ellis, 'Conversations in Swing Guitar' and 'More Conversations in Swing Guitar' were greeted by guitar fans and critics alike with great enthusiasm and considered by many as instant classics. 'Duke's Blues,' another Stony Plain Records release, is also considered a masterful blues tour de force that is still selling after years on the market.

It's no secret among blues and swing fans that Duke's style has influenced many local, national and international guitarists over the years. His lyrical phrasing and stunning command of classic blues and jazz styles has been thrilling audiences for decades. Duke keeps himself busy these days touring, producing, and writing and can be heard with his blues touring group The Duke Robillard Band which includes longtime Roomful of Blues baritone saxophonist Doug 'Mr. Low' James.

He is also busy with The Classic Jazz Guitars featuring Duke and fellow jazz guitarist Paul Kolesnikow, in which they perform jazz and swing era tunes with the superb rhythm section of Mark Teixeira on drums and Jesse Williams on acoustic bass. Duke can be seen currently on three DVDs: 'Duke Robillard and Friends Live at the Blackstone River Theater,' 'The New Guitar Summit Live at Stoneham Theater' (both on Stony Plain Records), and 'Duke Robillard Live: The Ohne Filter Show,, a German music TV show from the early 1990s.

Not content to slow down, Duke is as busy as ever recording, performing club dates, concerts and festivals worldwide, writing, teaching - and whatever else inspires him.

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