Tad Robinson Band is:
Tad Robinson – Vocals, harmonica | Kevin Anker – Hammond organ, Keys
Brian Yarde – Drums, vocals | Paul Holdman – Guitar, vocals
Brian Yarde – Drums, vocals | Paul Holdman – Guitar, vocals
Tad Robinson returns to Delmark with a much-anticipated brand-new recording SOUL IN BLUE! His first as a leader on Delmark since 1998's Last Go Round; Tad recorded his debut album as a leader way back in 1994 on Delmark (One To Infinity.) He's added his remarkable soul-drenched vocals and powerful, yet tasteful harp playing to many Delmark recordings over the years, including such hit titles from Dave Specter, Floyd McDaniel, Al Miller, and Rockwell Avenue Blues Band !
Soul-blues singer TAD ROBINSON, was born and raised in Manhattan. At the age of 30, he settled in the second city, drawn there by Chicago’s rich blues heritage. His apprenticeship in the Windy City as a harmonica player led him to the blues clubs and his pure soul inflected voice kept him in demand fronting bands and as a top-tier session singer. After signing with the DELMARK label in the 90’s, Robinson became a regular on the blues circuit in the U.S. and in Europe, and has collected two W.C. Handy Award nominations and eight Blues Music Award nominations in the ensuing years. Along the way he’s been drawn to musicians and kindred souls whose creativity thrives at the nexus of soul and blues.
It’s been six years since Robinson released the Blues Music Award-nominated REAL STREET. Robinson proves on his new DELMARK album Soul In Blue that he still has plenty of skin in the blues game. Six of these tracks were recorded in Indianapolis with his longtime road band, plus special guests, including long time cohorts and friends, guitarists extraordinaire, ALEX SCHULTZ and DAVE SPECTER! Four tracks were cut in Chicago at Delmark’s Riverside Studio with the DELMARK ALL-STARS.(Mike Wheeler, Roosevelt Purifoy, Carlos Showers, Larry Williams, Pooky Styx.) You’ll savor the sounds of a set of mostly self-penned songs along with two covers, of Wilson Pickett, and Arthur Adams, rounding out the list. Robinson and his remarkable collaborators imbue each track
with the varied shades of Chicago soul, in blue.
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Tracklist: 01. Keep It In The Vault 02. Out Of Sight And Out Of Mind 03. Somewhere There’s A Train 04. (I’m) Down To My Last Heartbreak 05. Deeper Than You Think 06. It’s Private Tonight 07. Keep Your Heart Open For Love 08. Up In The Air 09. Forgive And Forget 10. This Time
Website: https://tadrobinson.com/ |
Tad Robinson, Soul In Blue | By Aaron Cohen
After more than 30 years of singular recordings and global touring, Tad Robinson has come full circle. Soul In Blue marks his return to Delmark Records, which released the singer’s debut, One To Infinity, in 1994. For the project he brought in longtime friends and encountered new collaborators with sessions in Indianapolis as well as in Chicago at Delmark’s Riverside Studio. While Robinson and the wider world have gone through substantial changes in the intervening decades his new album addresses current issues in a style that remains eternal.
The album title highlights how Robinson has been directly pegged as a “soul blues” artist. In fact, Memphis’ Blues Foundation has nominated him 10 times in that category for its annual Blues Music Awards. This identification rings true in his music. If the term defines a blues singer who conveys classic R&B inflections and emotions but does not always adhere to 12- or 16-bar song forms, then Robinson does fit the bill. His delivery and songwriting connect him to such soul blues stars as Johnny Rawls as well as recently deceased Chicago legends, Otis Clay and Syl Johnson. He does not mind the designation.
“What I’ve been doing all along is singing in a style that made it somewhat possible, as a journeyman, for me to be recognized in the blues world,” Robinson said. “I don’t do a lot of traditional blues but record companies and record buyers are looking to categorize things and what I do seems to fit right in the category of “soul” blues. It’s been kind of a blessing for me. Some labels are bad and put you in a box. Other times they inspire you to carve a niche”.
After his 2019 release, Real Street (Severn) and in the wake of the COVID pandemic, Robinson set to work on the eight new titles that are heard here and knew he needed a new home for them. Chicago guitarist/composer Dave Specter—who introduced Robinson to Delmark in the mid 1990s—helped bring him back to the company. Producer Elbio Barilari championed Robinson’s return and convened the Delmark All-Stars, a contingent of muscular blues veterans, to back him up on four tracks. Ultimately, the Delmark team brought the tracks together to create a powerful seamless collection. Robinson benefitted from embracing everyone’s approach.
“When Elbio set me up with the All Stars, I realized that I had been missing the raw power of the seasoned way they approach Chicago blues and Chicago soul, particularly bassist Larry Williams and organist Roosevelt Purifoy Jr. There’s a different flavor in what we do in Indianapolis where there’s more swing with the influence of Wes Montgomery, Freddie Hubbard and other stalwarts of the ‘Naptown vibe; it’s a lighter feel.”
That Indiana sound comes across in the bounce of the groove to, “Keep It In The Vault,” an autobiographical piece that celebrates the unspoken bond he shares with his wife, Amy. But it might also be a result of drummer Brian Yarde’s unique contribution.
“Brian is from Barbados, so his musical background came with a lot of different musical influences,” Robinson said. “He has a joyful sound and does not have to be constrained by the notion of being a blues purist.”
Robinson’s mingling of Indiana friends with Chicagoans shapes “Out Of Sight And Out Of Mind,” which he co-wrote with organist Alberto Marisco and his Indiana neighbor, lyricist John Bean. The chord progression here is pure soul blues and the backing voices of Chicago singers Devin B. Thompson and Lorie Smith really make it soar.
Marisco also co-wrote “Somewhere There’s A Train,” which Robinson began in a daydream when he was homesick while touring Europe. The song reverberates with the gospel inflections of classic R&B and is propelled by interlocking guitar parts played by Robinson’s longtime friend and musical mentor, Alex Schultz.
Soul In Blue also features Robinson’s personal rendering of an overlooked vintage R&B single. “(I’m) Down To My Last Heartbreak.” Recorded with The Delmark All-Stars, it transforms the 1964 version that collectors have prized. That Wilson Pickett rendition was an insouciant doo wop, despite the somber lyrics. Keyboardist Kevin Anker’s minor key arrangement fits Robinson and has a more downhearted feel, with guitarists Mike Wheeler and Carlos Showers adding their own kind of sting and emphasizing the Chicago swagger that Barilari had in mind for the set. The other cover on the album, “It’s Private Tonight,” keeps the straightforward elegance of Arthur Adams’ take as Robinson brings in his own phrasing over Purifoy’s lyrical organ lines.
Bassist Steve Gomes had a large hand in composing “Deeper Than You Think,” which connects with Southern soul—an idiom that Robinson translates as, “two verses, bridge, verse, and then the out-vamp.” But that outro is not so simple. Famed producer and friend Willie Henderson once advised Robinson that it’s on the “vamp” that, as the singer, you get to “tell your story!”
“It sounds like it’s ad-libbed but often those vamp lyrics are composed in advance”, says Robinson. “They kind of serve as an epilogue that sums up the plot of the song as it fades out.”
“Keep Your Heart Open For Love” tells a different story. Here Robinson evokes the plight of refugees in contemporary America and the undeserved hostility they face. Dave Specter’s guest performance matches the intensity of Robinson’s words.
“Dave’s unique phrasing brought a lot of fire to the song,” Robinson said. “When we hit the hook, we go to a major chord and that’s a surprise. The uplift. Against that sweetness, Dave is playing some powerful blues , which creates a push and a pull, a dual, complex, feeling.”
Economic uncertainty also runs throughout the theme of, “Up In The Air”, a narrative about holding onto love when holding onto a job is tenuous.
Tad's main guitarist of 20 years, Paul Holdman plays a surprisingly intricate turnaround to open, “Forgive And Forget,” which is anchored by the funky, driving bass line of David Murray and which Robinson cites as, “The closest thing we have to a straight-up 12-bar blues tune on the album”. It’s a blues which is underpinned by Anker’s expansive harmonic sensibility.
Finally, Robinson submits his composition, the sentimental album closer, “This Time.” But it is the Delmark All Stars who bring it home. “I suggested we play the descending bass riff in the song three times,” Robinson said. “But the band gently explained that twice was enough; I got outvoted on my own session.”
Robinson’s spirit of collaboration supersedes ego. But his collective ideals never inhibit his individuality, which is as true on Soul In Blue as it was when he initially stepped into Delmark’s studio.
“Ultimately, in blues music, you end up sounding like you,” Robinson said. “If you’ve had a good day or a bad day, you’re still going to sound like you. Sure, you have to listen to what other musicians do, but then as quickly, forget it. There’s no benefit to copying someone else.”
Special guest guitarists - DAVE SPECTER , ALEX SCHULTZ , TOMI LEINO , CHRIS VITARELLO, MIKE WHEELER, CARLOS SHOWERS
TRACKLIST
➊ KEEP IT IN THE VAULT 4:47
Tad Robinson (Robinworks Music, BMI)
➋ OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND 5:14
Tad Robinson, John P. Bean, Alberto Marsico
(Robinworks Music, BMI; Quarter Sawn Music, ASCAP)
➌ SOMEWHERE THERE’S A TRAIN 3:52
Tad Robinson, Alberto Marsico (Robinworks Music, BMI)
➍ (I’M) DOWN TO MY LAST HEARTBREAK 3:49
Di Fosco T. Ervin Jr. , James B. Willingham Jr.
(Screen Gems – EMI Music, BMI)
➎ DEEPER THAN YOU THINK 4:56
Steve Gomes, Tad Robinson, Kevin Anker (Gomesong Music, BMI)
➏ IT’S PRIVATE TONIGHT 4:07
Adams, Arthur K. (Stone Agate Music, BMI)
➐ KEEP YOUR HEART OPEN FOR LOVE 4:39
Tad Robinson (Robinworks Music, BMI)
➑ UP IN THE AIR 3:07
Tad Robinson, Steve Gomes
(Robinworks Music, BMI; Gomesong Music, BMI)
➒ FORGIVE AND FORGET 4:02
Tad Robinson (Robinworks Music, BMI)
➓ THIS TIME 3:51
Tad Robinson (Robinworks Music, BMI)
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SPECIAL GUESTS
ALBERTO MARSICO keyboards (2, 3)
STEVE GOMES bass (5, 8)
DAVE SPECTER guitar (7)
ALEX SCHULTZ guitar, bass (3)
TOMI LEINO lead guitar (1)
CHRIS VITARELLO rhythm guitar (2)
MARK BUSELLI trumpet (5)
RICH COHEN tenor saxophone (5)
BRANDON MEEKS bass (2)
GERALDO DE OLIVEIRA congas (10)
DEVIN B. THOMPSON background vocals (2)
LORIE SMITH background vocals (2)
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EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION AND SUPERVISION: Julia A. Miller AND Elbio Barilari
PRODUCED BY Tad Robinson AND Elbio Barilari
TRACKS 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 RECORDED AT Tranquility Base Studio,
INDIANAPOLIS, IN / ENGINEERED AND MIXED BY Chris Lieber
TRACKS 4, 6, 7, 10 RECORDED AT Delmark Riverside Studio, CHICAGO, IL
ENGINEERED AND MIXED BY Julia A. Miller
MASTERED BY Julia A. Miller AT Delmark Riverside Studio, CHICAGO, IL
HORN ARRANGEMENT ON TRACK 5 BY Marlin McKay
LINER NOTES BY Aaron Cohen • DESIGN BY Brandtner Design
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY Rich Voorhees, Voorhees Studio Inc.
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MUSICIANS
TAD ROBINSON vocals and harmonica (ALL TRACKS)
KEVIN ANKER keyboards (1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10)
PAUL HOLDMAN guitar (1, 2, 5, 8, 9)
BRIAN YARDE drums (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9)
DAVID MURRAY bass (1, 9)
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THE DELMARK ALL-STARS
ROOSEVELT PURIFOY JR. organ (4, 6, 7, 10)
POOKY STYX drums (4, 6, 7, 10)
LARRY WILLIAMS bass (4, 6, 7, 10)
CARLOS SHOWERS guitar (4, 6, 10)
MIKE WHEELER guitar (4, 6, 10)
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