Hard to imagine where jump blues would be without Roomful Of
Blues. 45 years ago Duke Robillard started the group out of New England
with a love of horn-led, uptempo fun, in direct contrast to the
electric blues that had taken over. In all the years since, the group
has been the main flag bearer for the format. Duke's long gone, with
Chris Vachon now the leader, and dozens of musicians have filled the
chairs over the years, but the style remains the same. Combining the
end of the Big Band era, the early R'n'B, some Kansas City jazz, and the
first hints of rock n' roll, it still swings.
To celebrate 45 (why not?), the group recorded this live set
at a Rhode Island club this past spring. With a nod to its history, the
set includes numbers from all over Roomful's past - some Grammy
nominated ones, and cuts that this edition of the group had never played
live. Going back to 1979, they pluck out their rewired version of Hank
Williams' Jambalaya, further connecting the dots by adding country and
Cajun. That points out of the beauty of this band's approach: They
don't just pay tribute to jump blues, they are a working, current band,
bringing in other influences and adapting. There is some heavy blues
electric guitar from Vachon, they can do that too. But horns, there's
always gonna be horns. And that's what I love about 'em. 14 cuts, an
hour of precision, energy and excitement. Roomful of Blues goes back
decades, their music even further, but it out-grooves the vast majority
of blues groups.
No comments:
Post a Comment