Roomful of Blues is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and swing revival

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

based in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. 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 The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', "Swagger, sway and swing with energy and precision".Wisser, Jeff. ''

'', March 23, 2003 Since 1967, the group’s blend of swing,

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

jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as ...

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

has earned it five

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations and many other accolades, including seven

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

s (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."Van Vleck, Phillip. ''Billboard'' January 22, 2005 The ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' International Critics Poll has twice selected Roomful of Blues as Best Blues Band. Roomful of Blues is currently an eight-piece unit led by guitarist Chris Vachon and featuring long-time tenor and alto sax player Rich Lataille. In 2010, singer Phil Pemberton took over the vocal duties, replacing Dave Howard. Recent members are trumpeter Carl Gerhard, bassist John Turner and drummer Chris Rivelli, joining long-time member baritone and tenor saxophonist Mark Earley. Keyboardist Travis Colby left the band at the end of 2012 to continue his music career in a different direction and Rusty Scott is now on keyboards. Over the years there have been at least 48 Roomful of Blues members.

Career

Roomful of Blues was born in

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...

, United States, in 1967 when guitarist

Duke Robillard Michael John "Duke" Robillard (born October 4, 1948) is an American guitarist and singer. He founded the band Roomful of Blues and was a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Although Robillard is known as a rock and blues guitarist, he also pla ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Al Copley Al Copley (born Almon LeGrande Copley, 1952, Buffalo, New York, United States) is an American blues pianist and singer, plus arranger and co-founder of Roomful of Blues. After 16 years with Roomful, Copley relocated to Europe in 1984, and back ...

started a band that played tough, no-holds-barred Chicago blues. They soon began exploring the swinging,

jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotics, robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, gallo ...

blues, R&B and

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 major ...

of the 1940s and 1950s, and added a horn section (including Rich Lataille) in 1970. They established a devoted fan base in New England. In 1974, they performed with

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, and a few years later songwriter

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...

helped them land their first record deal, and produced their debut with co-producer Joel Dorn. In 1977, Roomful of Blues’ self-titled debut album on Island Records (reissued on Hyena Records as ''The First Album'') brought them to national attention. Founding member

left the band in 1980, and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

Ronnie Earl :''This article refers to the musician. For the district attorney of Travis County, Texas, see Ronnie Earle.'' Ronnie Earl (born Ronald Horvath, March 10, 1953, Queens, New York, United States) is an American blues guitarist and music instructo ...

replaced him. Singer

Lou Ann Barton Lou Ann Barton (born February 17, 1954) is an American blues singer based in Austin, Texas since the 1970s. AllMusic noted that "The grace, poise, and confidence she projects on-stage is part of a long tradition for women blues singers". Biogr ...

joined the band at this time, sharing vocals with sax man Greg Piccolo. By now the band was touring nationally, attracting bigger and bigger crowds. Roomful recorded the ''Hot Little Mama'' for their own Blue Flame label and two successful albums for the Varrick label during the 1980s. In 1994, they released ''Dance All Night'', their first featuring guitarist Chris Vachon (who joined the band in 1990) and harpist/vocalist

Sugar Ray Norcia Sugar Ray Norcia (born Raymond Alan Norcia, June 6, 1954, Stonington, Connecticut, United States) is an American electric and soul blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known for his work with his backing band, The Bluetones, with who ...

. Their 1995 album, the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated ''Turn It On! Turn It Up!'', a mix of big band swing and rock and roll, brought the band its greatest radio and sales success to date. 1997 saw a sizable turnover in personnel, with five members departing; vocalist/harpist Sugar Ray Norcia, keyboardist Matt McCabe, bassist "Doc" Grace, baritone saxophonist Doug "Mr. Low" James, and trombonist Carl Querfurth left and were replaced by, respectively, vocalist McKinley "Mac" Odom, keyboardist Al Weisman, bassist Marty Ballou, baritone saxist Kevin May, and trombonist/bass trombonist John Wolf. This edition of Roomful released ''There Goes the Neighborhood'' on Rounder subsidiary Bullseye Blues in 1998. Roomful of Blues joined

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

with the

-nominated ''That’s Right!'' in 2003, followed by ''Standing Room Only'' in 2005, ''Raisin’ A Ruckus'' in 2008, ''Hook, Line and Sinker'' in 2011 and ''45 Live!'' in 2013. ''Down Beat'' described ''Standing Room Only'' as “bold, brassy and highly danceable jump blues with contemporary energy and sophistication...swings with a vengeance.”Hadley, Frank John
''Downbeat'' magazine
June 2005 In addition to their band recordings, Roomful of Blues often backed musicians like

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

Jimmy McCracklin James David Walker Jr. (August 13, 1921 – December 20, 2012), better known by his stage name Jimmy McCracklin, was an American pianist, vocalist, and songwriter. His style contained West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. Over a career tha ...

, Roy Brown, Joe Turner, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson and

Earl King Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guit ...

— stars of the 1940s and 1950s

scene. Roomful recorded albums with Turner, Vinson and King during the 1980s, and all three recordings received Grammy nominations. They played with rocker

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo ('' née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum al ...

on her 1991 blues album ''True Love''. The Roomful Horns backed many other artists as well, including Canadian star

Colin James Colin James (born Colin James Munn, August 17, 1964) is a Canadian rock and blues singer and songwriter. Biography Early years James was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His grandpa was Serbian. He got his break opening for Stevie Ray V ...

on his double platinum album (in Canada), ''Colin James and the Little Big Band'', and Stevie Ray Vaughan on his 1984 ''Live At Carnegie Hall'' album on Epic. Over the years Roomful of Blues has played countless gigs and many major festivals, including The

San Francisco Blues Festival The San Francisco Blues Festival was active from 1973 until 2008, and was located in San Francisco, California. It was the one of the longest running blues festival in the United States. History Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the ...

, The

King Biscuit Blues Festival The King Biscuit Blues Festival is an annual, multi-day blues festival, held in Helena, Arkansas, United States. History The name of the festival comes from ''King Biscuit Time'', which was the longest running radio show. Sonny Boy Williamson ...

, The

Beale Street Music Festival Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting Ghana in 2022, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The ''Beale Street Music Festival'' ...

, Blues On The Fox, Illinois Blues Festival, Kansas City Blues Festival, Monterey Blues Festival, Santa Cruz Blues Festival, and overseas at The North Sea Jazz Festival, The

Stockholm Jazz Festival Stockholm Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that was established in 1980 in Stockholm, Sweden, originally called the Stockholm Jazz and Blues Festival. A portion of the first festival was broadcast on Swedish television. Overview Clai ...

, The Montreux Jazz Festival, Notodden Festival and the Belgian Rhythm & Blues Festival. They have gigged with blues stars ranging from

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 ...

, Otis Rush and Stevie Ray Vaughan to rockers

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

and Carlos Santana. The band has toured virtually non-stop, hitting cities from coast to coast, and traveling abroad to Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and Russia.

Personnel

Throughout four decades of continuous touring and recording, the band's line-up has experienced many changes. It is said that more than 50 musicians have played in the band. Some of them have achieved a successful solo career. Of note, Porky Cohen, whose career began in the 1940s and included playing in the bands of

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

Lucky Millinder Lucius Venable "Lucky" Millinder (August 8, 1910 – September 28, 1966) was an American swing and rhythm-and-blues bandleader. Although he could not read or write music, did not play an instrument and rarely sang, his showmanship and musical ...

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

and others, was in the band. Rich Lataille,

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

and

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

, is the only remaining member from the original line-up.

Current members

* Rich Lataille –

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and alto saxophone (1970–present) * Chris Vachon –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(1990–present) * Phil Pemberton – vocal (2010–present) * Rusty Scott –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

(2012–present) * John Turner –

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...

and

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Mike Coffey –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Carl Gerhard –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Alek Razdan –

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and

Former members

:''Listed alphabetically. This is a partial list.'' * Marty Ballou – bass *

– vocal (early 1980s) * Al Basile – trumpet and cornet * Junior Brantley – keyboards * Fran Christina – drums * Porky Cohen – trombone (deceased) * Travis Colby –

and

(20??–2012) *

– piano (1967–1984) * Jason Corbiere – drums * Norman Daley – baritone sax * Forest Doran – bass * Mark DuFresne – vocal and harmonica *

– guitar (1980–1988) * Mark Earley – baritone sax and tenor sax * Bob Enos – trumpet (deceased) * Dimitri Gorodestky – bass * Ken "Doc" Grace – bass * Brad Hallen – bass * Dave Howard – vocal (20??–2010) * Preston Hubbard – bass * Fred Jackson – trumpet * Doug "Mr. Low" James – baritone saxophone * Tommy K. – guitar *

Ron Levy Ron Levy (born Reuvin Zev ben Yehoshua Ha Levi, May 29, 1951) is an American electric blues musician and composer. Levy was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. He primarily plays piano and organ. Levy grew up in Brookline, Massach ...

– piano and Hammond organ (1983–1987) * Ephraim Lowell – drums * Kevin May – baritone sax * Matt McCabe – piano * Rory McLeod – bass * Danny Motta – trumpet *

– vocal and harmonica (1991–1998) * Mac Odom – vocal * Edward Parnigoni, Jr. – bass * Larry Peduzzi – bass * George Peterle – guitar * Greg Piccolo – vocal and tenor sax * Carl Querfurth – trombone and producer * Bryan "Frankie" Rizzuto – upright bass, electric bass *

– vocal and guitar (1967–1980) * John Rossi – drums (1970–1998; ) *

Curtis Salgado Curtis Salgado (born February 4, 1954, in Everett, Washington, United States) is a Portland, Oregon-based blues, blues rock, and blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist. Career Salgado b ...

– vocal (1984–1986) * Mark Stevens – piano and Hammond organ * Paul Tomasello – bass and vocal * Hank Walther – piano and Hammond organ * Mike Warner – drums * Albert Weisman – piano and Hammond organ * Jimmy Wimpfheimer – bass * John Wolf – trombone and bass trombone * Doug Woolverton – trumpet

Discography

Studio albums

* 1977 ''Roomful of Blues'' eissued as ''The First Album''(

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

; Varrick 988 32 Records

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Em ...

Hyena

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

* 1979 ''Let's Have a Party'' (Antilles; Room-Tone RT-102 004 * 1981 ''Hot Little Mama!'' (Blue Flame; Ace; Varrick

985 Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...

* 1982 '' Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson & Roomful of Blues'' (by

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...

) (

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

) * 1983 ''Blues Train'' (by Big Joe Turner) (Muse; Rockbeat) - with special guest:

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

* 1984 ''Dressed Up To Get Messed Up'' (Varrick; Demon) * 1986 ''Glazed'' (by

Earl King Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guit ...

) ( Black Top) * 1991 ''True Love'' (by

) ( Chrysalis) - Benatar's jump blues album featuring 'The Roomful Horns' with her band:

Neil Giraldo Neil Thomas Giraldo (born December 29, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, arranger, and songwriter best known as the musical partner of Pat Benatar since 1979and spouse since 1982. He has also performed, written and produced for art ...

, Chuck Domanico, Myron Grombacher, Charlie Giordano * 1994 ''Dance All Night'' (Bullseye Blues) * 1995 ''Turn It On! Turn It Up!'' (Bullseye Blues) * 1996 ''Rhythm & Bones'' (by Porky Cohen) (Bullseye Blues) * 1997 ''Under One Roof'' (Bullseye Blues) * 1997 ''Roomful of Christmas'' (Bullseye Blues) * 1998 ''There Goes the Neighborhood'' (Bullseye Blues) * 2001 ''Watch You When You Go'' (Bullseye Blues) * 2003 ''That's Right!'' (

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

) * 2005 ''Standing Room Only'' (Alligator) * 2008 ''Raisin' a Ruckus'' (Alligator) * 2011 ''Hook, Line & Sinker'' (Alligator) * 2020 ''In a Roomful of Blues'' (Alligator)

Live albums

* 1987 ''Live at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel'' (Varrick; Demon) * 2002 ''Live at Wolf Trap'' (Room-Tone RT-101 urrently out-of-print * 2013 ''45 Live!'' (Alligator) - recorded live at 'The Ocean Mist'

Compilation albums

* 1999 ''Swingin' & Jumpin' '' (1979–1983 recordings) (

32 Records 32 Records was a record label established in 1995 by record producer Joel Dorn and attorney Robert Miller. Its 32 Jazz imprint released a successful series of compilation albums. It was named for Dorn's favorite sports number. It also released ...

) * 2000 ''The Blues'll Make You Happy Too'' (1981–1998 recordings) (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

) * 2009 ''Essential Recordings: Jump Blues Classics (Perfect 10 Series: Best of Rounder Records)'' (Rounder)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control American blues musical groups Black Top Records artists Alligator Records artists Muse Records artists Island Records artists Musical groups established in 1967 Jump blues musicians Contemporary blues musicians Swing revival ensembles