Duke Robillard And His All Star Band
Blast Off

By Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro © Feb 2026

Blast Off is Duke Robillard's thirty-eighth release and his first on KBA recipient Sallie Bengtson's Nola Blue Records. That said, if you were to figure in the number of recordings he's produced and/or appeared on, that number just might be countless.

For the project, Duke - on guitar and lead & background vocals - is joined by many recognizable names: Chris Cote on vocals and lead guitar; Bruce Bears on piano, organ and background vocals; Marty Ballou on electric & acoustic bass, and background vocals; Mark Teixeira on drums, percussion and background vocals; Doug James on baritone and tenor sax; Mark Earley on tenor sax; Billy Novick on clarinet; and Doc Chanonhouse on trumpet. Collectively Duke calls them his All Star Band. Of the disc's twelve tracks, three - of which two are instrumentals - are Duke's originals.

Similar to my favorite Duke Robillard song, "Blues A Rama" - where Duke expertly mimics the styles of many of his guitar influencers - for this recording, Duke assembled many of the styles of music he's known for: blues; swing; jazz; and R&B.

The opening track is a swinging rendition of Floyd Dixon's "When I Get Lucky". As with most of the other tracks, the smooth vocals being belted out on this one come from the outstanding voice of Chris Cote. Musically, as with many of Duke's recordings, horns and rhythm rule, and Doug, Mark (Earley), Billy, Marty, Mark (Teixiera), and Bruce are indeed making that happen here. And then there's Duke, being his masterful self on jump blues guitar.

With a title like "I'll Be Glad When You're Dead (You Rascal You)", Sam Theard definitely did not care for the person he wrote this one about. This duet between Duke and Chris is the only track that features Duke singing. The sass they exude on the humorous lines of:
"I'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you,I
'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you.
Well I brought you into my home,
You wouldn't leave my wife alone.....I
'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you,
I'll be glad when you're dead you rascal you.
When you're laying six feet deep,
No more fried chicken will you eat".....;
most certainly take the edge off the severity of the lyrics.Musically, the Dixieland Jazz vibe created by the horn section - now with Doc on trumpet and Billy on the clarinet - will surely transcend you straight to the French Quarter.

Most young musicians form garage bands right out of high school, but that's when Duke started Roomful of Blues. Wow! As a matter of fact, when he wrote this song - "Feel My Cares", he was just seventeen years old. Lyrically and musically, this is good ol' traditional blues at its finest with Duke at his finest on blues guitar.

Having never heard this song, and having never heard of the Rocking Brothers - which Bill Dahl mentions on the disc's liner notes as "a mid-50s obscurity" - I just had to go to YouTube and listen to their original recording of "Play Boy Hop" (A.M. Bruner). With no apparent deviation from the Rocking Brothers performance, Duke and the band totally nail this instrumental. As it did back when some of these players performed it in the early years of Roomful, the track features a standout performance by Doug on baritone sax.

The original and title track is a collaboration of Duke, Marty and Mark T. it's one of those songs that from time to time arises from a few band members fooling around with their instruments while waiting for the others to show up. Dukes take on it was "This is Really cool! I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but we'll see!". Well now you not only see what he did with it, you can listen to it as well, because it became a fabulous instrumental titled "Blast Off".

Being a big fan of his, Duke pays homage to Count Basie on a rendition of his "The King". Something Duke said about Basie's music: "The sound of the band, the sound of the rhythm section, and the soloists just blew my mind". Simply said, that same statement can be made about this ensemble. Jazz and big band fans, as well as the swing dancers, are going to absolutely love this one.

Using a "You had me at" reference, on "Warm And Tender Love" (B Robinson & I Berger) Chris had me at "Let Me Wrap You In My Warm And Tender Love", on the opening of this soulful ballad. A reference Duke made in the liner notes was that Chris can sing any kind of music. That said, not being all too familiar with him, after hearing him on this one, I'm his newest fan. Easily one of the disc's best tracks.

Like that earlier reference I made to "Blues A Rama", this original instrumental titled "Galactic Grease" is all about guitar style - Duke's, that is. With the rhythm section in that killer groove of theirs, Duke takes this one and runs with it. Great stuff!

Other tracks on Blast Off - what I'm saying will be an oft mentioned CD come various awards times - include: "Lowdown" (T. Waits & K Brennan); "Confusion" (A. Toussaint); "Stand By Me" (E. Jones); and "Look A There Look A There" (H. Whitaker).

Check him out at - www.dukerobillard.com. As usual, whomever you contact, please tell them their friend the Blewzzman sent you.