On the road the last couple weeks to launch their debut collaboration album CrissCross, Terry Robb and David Vest return to Victoria to perform for local audiences Nov. 9 and 10.
Robb and Vest have individually crossed clubs, cities, and countries performing rich and illustrious discographies to blues fans. Now the musicians join forces for the 12-track album CrissCross, the duo’s debut album featuring instrumental single Long Gone Home.
Robb lays down an intricate bit of acoustic guitar work with "unmatched virtuosity you almost take for granted because it's never showy,” the duo said in a news release. Vest matches him note for note on the piano as "a one-of-a-kind original who makes you believe it when he sings 'Somebody must be walking on my grave.'"
Other notable tracks on CrissCross include the boogie Electra Jane, with Robb's fingerpicking complementing Vest's toe-tapping ivory tickling; and the contemplative Natural Facts that welds classical music with the blues.
The tandem of Vest and Robb combines a wealth of experience and musicianship. Vest has shared the stage with Big Joe Turner, Bo Diddley, and country legend Faron Young, among others. He has also won six Maple Blues Awards and five Muddy Awards. Meanwhile, Robb has worked with Diddley, Joe Cocker, Maria Muldaur, Johnny Winter and Steve Miller among countless others. These collaborations are in addition to 19 Muddy Awards for Robb and being a member of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and the Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame.
Released by Cordova Bay Records on Oct. 4, the duo returns to Vancouver Island for a pair of record release shows – the Victoria launch at Hermann’s Jazz Club Nov. 9 and Duncan Showroom on Nov. 10.
Get a taste of the album at cordovabay.com.
