Chris Duarte (born February 16, 1963) is an American guitarist,

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

. Duarte plays a style of Texas blues-rock that draws on elements of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, blues, and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

. In his own words, his musical style is a combination of "rockin' blues" and "

punk blues Punk blues (or blues punk) is a rock music genre that mixes elements of punk rock and blues. Punk Blues Genre AMG Allmusic.com, Retrieved on May 21, 2008 Punk blues musicians and bands usually incorporate elements of related styles, such as p ...

." He is signed to Shrapnel Records.

Biography

Duarte was born in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, and was first inspired by music at age eight after seeing '' Fiddler On The Roof'' on television. Duarte first began playing on his brother's guitar and then obtained his own electric guitar, a Supro, at the age of 14. In 1979, Duarte moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, and purchased a 1963

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuousl ...

guitar for $500 and began exploring various genres including the

music of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

. This guitar he primarily used to learn to play, was stolen in 1993. Duarte was inspired by blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan, and credits

as his number-one musical idol. Duarte won a

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

recording contract with Silvertone Records and released '' Texas Sugar/Strat Magik ''in 1994, and was named "Best New Talent" in ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...

s 1995 Reader's Poll. He finished fourth in the magazine's "Best Blues Guitarist" category behind Eric Clapton,

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

. Duarte said once in an interview, "I always thought I was a better live performer anyway." Though Duarte has played a limited number of US dates in recent years with the Japanese band Bluestone Company backing him, he performs primarily as a

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

billed as the Chris Duarte Group. Originally formed with long-time friends and collaborators, John Jordan on bass and Jeff Hodges on drums, the current incarnation features Dustin Sargent on bass and John McKnight on drums. Apart from his band, Duarte has performed with Julie Burrell, Diana Cantu, Bobby Mack, Tracy Conover,

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

, and

Omar & the Howlers Omar And The Howlers is a Texas based electric blues and blues rock band, The original Howlers was formed in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1973. Three years later they moved to Austin, Texas. The band has regularly toured European countries.

. Duarte's concert dates in Asheville, North Carolina;

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

; and Greenville, South Carolina; were filmed for the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television show, ''The PBS Project'', and featured Steve Bailey on bass and

Jeff Sipe Jeff Sipe (born January 31, 1959), also known as Apt. Q258, is an American drummer. He is a rock and jazz fusion drummer but is proficient in other styles. He is a founding member of Aquarium Rescue Unit with Bruce Hampton. He was a member of Lef ...

on drums. His thirteenth and latest album, ''Lucky 13,'' is billed as a Chris Duarte Group release, featuring Dustin Sargent on the bass, and John McKnight on the drums, while Duarte plays the guitar and provides vocals. Following its release in 2014, it received positive reviews for its blend of slow, loping blues with psychedelic, rock and

overtones.

Select discography

Albums

*1987: ''Chris Duarte & The Bad Boys'' (SRS) *1994: '' Texas Sugar/Strat Magik'' (Silvertone) *1997: ''Tailspin Headwhack'' (Silvertone) *2000: ''Love Is Greater Than Me'' (Zoë/Rounder) *2003: ''Romp'' (Zoë/Rounder) *2007: ''Blue Velocity'' (Blues Bureau International) *2008: ''Vantage Point'' (Blues Bureau International) *2009: ''Chris Duarte & Bluestone Co.'' (Blues Bureau International) *2009: ''Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, All Things Blue'' (Blues Bureau International) *2010: ''Infinite Energy'' (Janblues) *2011: ''Blues In The Afterburner'' (Shrapnel) *2013: ''My Soul Alone'' (Shrapnel) *2013: ''Live'' (Blues Bureau International) *2014: ''Lucky 13'' (Shrapnel) *2016: ''The Fan Club'' (World Domination)

Other appearances

*1985: Bobby Mack & Night Train - ''Night Train'' (SJM)

Instructional DVDs

*1995: ''The Total Guitar CD Volume 6'' - Total Guitar *2006: ''Axplorations'' - Hal Leonard Corporation

References

External links

Chris Duarte Official SiteChris Duarte's Electronic Press Kit (duarte.rocks)Chris Duarte Group FansShrapnel Records Official Site
*
Chris Duarte Group fan forumChris Duarte interview with A1 BluesChris Duarte collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Duarte, Chris 1963 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists Musicians from San Antonio Texas blues musicians Songwriters from Texas American blues singers American male singers Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters Provogue Records artists