The Duke Robillard Band will be performing clubs and Festivals all over the US and Canada for the rest of the year. Duke will be attending the Blues Music Awards in May which will be held in Mississippi for the first time this year. He is nominated in the Best Blues Guitarist category again this year. He has won four awards in this category this decade!

Duke's soon to be released, A Swinging session with Duke Robillard is due out in May/June this year and is one of Duke's finest CD's yet. Fans of the swing side of Duke's playing will no doubt love this one! It features such greats as Scott Hamilton, Doug James, and Sax Gordon Beadle on saxes along with Bruce Katz on piano and organ and many other great musicians!

The CD covers a number of swinging Jazz standards plus some great small group swing and Blues tunes. Two of the tunes have been in Duke's repertoire now for the last few years and are favorites among many Duke fans. They are the 1920's tin pan alley song Just Because and an ode to Duke's own blues hound, Swinging with Lucy Mae.

Bob Porter in his liner notes says "A Swinging session with Duke Robillard is an album for everyone, be they blues lover or jazz fan. It is joyful timeless music!

There is also some important business news in the making. Lakewest studios owner/engineer John Paul Gauthier, known to everyone as Jack, will take on the position as Duke's manager as of April 15th. Their relationship is one that was formed more than twenty years ago when Jack took guitar lessons from Duke. When Jack started Lakewest studios in 1988 Duke was the studio's first client!

Duke recalls his song Passionate kiss was the first song recorded at Jack's new studio. Duke went on to record a majority of his CDs over the last 20 years there including the classic Duke's Blues, After hours swing session and his latest release World Full of Blues.

Many new plans are being made right now and if fact Duke and Jack have started a video production company which will produce a large series of instructional DVDs featuring Duke and other artists. Duke says "We have completed filming of our first DVD in Hi-Definition which will be in two volumes, on the importance of rhythm guitar in the Blues."

In the first 2 volumes, Duke gives up all his secrets about chording and comping behind harmonica or horns and vocalists. Tips on double stop patterns mixed with chord vamping with an infinite number of variations to make your rhythm guitar interesting to the guitarist AND the listener is the focus on his first DVD of this great series. Duke says "I've come to the conclusion that it would be a real shame if I didn't pass on everything I have learned from playing constantly over the past forty years with great bands and some of the genuine old masters of the blues and jazz idiom."

Duke Plans to record roughly 15 to twenty complete DVD lessons in the series, each one with a special feature or two that will enhance the enjoyment of the set. Requests from guitarist/fans who are interested in this series can email Duke about what they would like to see in upcoming DVDs.

Duke and Jack will also be producing some great blues artists this year. More on that soon. The production team will also be going to Latvia in June to record a very talented young group called The Latvian Blues Band. They have backed up many great visiting artists there including Duke himself and have requested his and Jack's expertise to record their first project.

On that note……. Artists wishing to enlist the services of Duke or Jack for production/recording projects can contact Duke at duke@dukerobillard.com or Jack at www.jack@lakewestrecording.com
Duke

FOR GUITAR PLAYERS ONLY

I have some exciting news about a new guitar that is in limited production now but should soon be on the market everywhere. Providence guitar builder/luthier Otto D'Ambrosio has designed a new guitar called the El Rey model for Eastman guitars, the great carved top string instrument builders of China. Otto has built prototypes and worked hands on in Beijing with their craftsmen to develop this new instrument that I'm proud to say I am playing now as one of my many tools of the trade.

It's a totally hollow small bodied carved top archtop guitar that feels like a real jazz guitar and plays with the ease of a Les Paul (without the weight!). With a beautiful feeling neck, gorgeous body and finish, and Kent Armstrong American made electronics, this guitar is a modern masterpiece with incredible tone and playability. I believe it sets a new standard for jazz guitar with this exciting new design.for information contact www.dambrosioguitars.com

I would like to give a tip to all my guitar playing friends about an amplifier I am currently using. The the company is Louis Electric out of Bergenfield N.J. The owner, Louis Rosano makes amazing sounding custom amps based on the early Fender tweed 40 and 80 watt twins with several speaker configurations. Mine is called "The Duke" and its a killer!!! Its got an Eminence 12" Tonker and a 10" Delta Demon speaker and the amp produces tones as fat and sweet as you could ever dream up! Lots of sustain with warm yet bright tone that you just cant get out of most modern amps. Maybe its because they hand build and wind their own transformers.

Or maybe because they use only the best components available and hand wire each amp with care and precision. It could have something to do with the beautiful 100 year old solid pine cabinet with only a stain on it to increase its tonal potential. Or maybe its that Lou tweeks each amp to what you specificly want with exacting skill to get the sound you want at the volume you play at to give you just the right breakup when you want it. Until now I thought custom "boutique" amps were nonsense until I got my Louis Electric amp. If you've searched and you can't find you're sound, you owe it to yourself to check out Louis electric amps at www.louisamps.com Yours truly, Duke Robillard.

Read more news about Duke Robillard and the Duke Robillard Band!

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