Roomful+of+blues

Roomful of Blues' self-titled 1977 disc on Island Records, produced by Joel Dorn and the great Doc Pomus, reveals a powerful and entertaining approach to material from Noble "Thin Man" Watts, Chick Willis, Aaron Walker, Lou Willie Turner, and others. Duke Robillard's authentic vocal and guitar lead with authority, the group performing these solid blues with the precision of jazz greats……

Roomful of Blues is an American blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 50 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, "Swagger, sway and swing with energy and precision". Since 1967, the group’s blend of swing, rock and roll, jump blues, boogie-woogie and soul has earned it five Grammy Award nominations and many other accolades, including seven Blues Music Awards (with a victory as Blues Band Of The Year in 2005). Billboard called the band "a tour de force of horn-fried blues…Roomful is so tight and so right." The Down Beat International Critics Poll has twice selected Roomful of Blues as Best Blues Band.

At its best, Roomful of Blues is a throwback to the heated jump blues bands of the early '50s, which blended hard-driving swing with the extroverted emotions of early R&B. However, this particular release is different than expected. Listeners who hope to hear extended solos and riotous ensembles are sure to be disappointed with Under One Roof, for much of the time Roomful of Blues sounds like an anonymous backup group put together specifically to accompany singer Sugar Ray Norcia. Norcia is a versatile and talented singer, and his repertoire ranges from a Basie blues to tunes that are closer to rock, soul and even country. If one comes to this CD without false expectations, the music is enjoyable on its own level, but from a jazz standpoint, the release is rather routine and not very significant.

Roomful of Blues is an American blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 50 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, "Swagger, sway and swing with energy and precision". Since 1967, the group’s blend of swing, rock and roll, jump blues, boogie-woogie and soul has earned it five Grammy Award nominations and many other accolades, including seven Blues Music Awards (with a victory as Blues Band Of The Year in 2005). Billboard called the band "a tour de force of horn-fried blues…Roomful is so tight and so right." The Down Beat International Critics Poll has twice selected Roomful of Blues as Best Blues Band.

32 Jazz's Swingin' & Jumpin' is an excellent 12-track compilation of highlights from Roomful of Blues' early recordings, concentrating on their eponymous debut. Over the course of their decades-long existence, Roomful of Blues effectively became a franchise unto themselves, built more on a brand-name collective identity than on the voices of the myriad individual members who kept the band a smoothly humming machine. Describing Roomful of Blues that way, however, gives short shrift to the many accomplished musicians who have emerged from the band's ranks over the years: guitarists Duke Robillard and Ronnie Earl, organist Ron Levy, pianist Al Copley, singer Lou Ann Barton, vocalist/harmonica player Sugar Ray Norcia, and drummer Fran Christina (later of the Fabulous Thunderbirds), to name the most prominent.

Mentioning that little has changed for a band in nearly 35 years might sound like a criticism, but forRoomful of Blues, that's actually a compliment. After more personal shifting than Savoy Brown and with saxist Rich Lataille as the only remaining original member, the Rhode Island-based jump blues outfit still swings with the passion and precision they exhibited three decades ago. On their 17th album (but first for Alligator Records) they have swapped frontmen/singers yet again, with harmonica ace Mark DuFresne now ably filling that position. Still, the band retains and even enhances the buoyant, horn-injected sound that has always been their trademark…

Over the course of its decades-long existence, Roomful of Blues effectively became a franchise unto itself, built more on a brand-name collective identity than on the voices of the myriad individual members who kept the band a smoothly humming machine. Describing Roomful of Blues that way, however, gives short shrift to the many accomplished musicians who have emerged from the band's ranks over the years: guitarists Duke Robillard and Ronnie Earl, organist Ron Levy, pianist Al Copley, singer Lou Ann Barton, vocalist/harmonica player Sugar Ray Norcia, and drummer Fran Christina (later of the Fabulous Thunderbirds), to name the most prominent. Plus, the band's horn section blossomed into a renowned freelancing unit, backing countless other artists both on-stage and in the studio. - AllMusicGuide

The hard-edged, horn-fueled R&B band Roomful of Blues has been going strong since the 1960s, building its reputation with electrifying live shows and an irresistible blend of blues, swing, rock, and soul. RAISIN' A RUCKUS shows the group has lost none of its punch. New lead singer Dave Howard brings his gruff, growling pipes to the Roomful's brass-tacks charge, and the rhythm section, horns, and lead instruments have never sounded better. With a sound that nods to the jump blues of yesteryear, but with steely contemporary edge, RAISIN' A RUCKUS does precisely what its title suggests. Get your dancing shoes and head for the floor.