A dynamic, unforgettable artist whose signature style has made him a legend among blues musicians.
Contents: ● About Terry Robb ● Recommended If You Like ● Music ● Photos ● Contact
ABOUT TERRY ROBB
Short Bio A dynamic, unforgettable artist whose signature style has made him a legend among blues musicians.
Bio Terry Robb is one of the top acoustic blues guitarists of our time. His signature fingerpicking style has earned him international acclaim from worldwide audiences, music critics and his distinguished peers. Incorporating elements from the Mississippi Delta music tradition, ragtime, country, swing and free jazz, Robb has built a unique blues sound that has made him a legend in his prolific music career spanning more than four decades.
The multitude of awards Terry Robb has received speak to his seminal talent as a blues guitarist. Robb has been inducted into both the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and the Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame. He single-handedly defined the Muddy Award for Best Acoustic Guitar, winning the honor 19 consecutive years from 1992 until 2011. Upon his retirement from the competition in 2011, the award was renamed the “Terry Robb Best Acoustic Guitar” Muddy Award to honor his landmark contributions to blues music.
Robb was born in British Columbia, raised in the United States and currently resides in Portland, Oregon. He achieved greatness at an early age, performing with Ramblin’ Rex of Frank Zappa / Captain Beefheart fame, Canned Heat’s Henry Vestine, and steel string guitar icon John Fahey. At age twenty-four, Robb produced and played accompaniment on Fahey’s 1984 release “Let Go,” which received a four-star review by Rolling Stone and led to numerous subsequent collaborations for which Robb served as Fahey’s producer and session guitarist.
As an acclaimed producer and session guitarist, Robb has contributed to many award- winning projects. He produced Alice Stuart’s 2002 release “Can’t Find No Heaven,”
nominated for Grammy and W.C. Handy awards. With more than 15 releases under his name, Robb’s recording feature collaborations with John Fahey, Eddy Clearwater, Maria Muldaur, Ike Willis, Curtis Salgado, and Glen Moore. He has toured nationally with Buddy Guy and Steve Miller and performed alongside B.B. King, Albert Lee, Joe Cocker, Robert Cray, Leo Kottke, Rick Wakeman and many more all-stars.
Steeped in Americana ethnomusicology, Robb has been featured in numerous documentary films, books and articles profiling American roots and blues music and the luminaries with whom he has worked, such as the 2007 film “Touch Me Someplace I Can Feel” about the late cartoonist John Callahan, the 2010 film “Portland Mojo: How Stumptown Got the Blues,” and the 2014 book “Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist.”
Awards & Highlights 2017 - Blues Blast Music Award nominee: Best Acoustic Album – “Cool on the Bloom” - Faculty, Britt Festival Guitar Weekend
2015 - Featured in Eight Acoustic Blues Masters article by Guitar World Magazine 2014 - Featured interview in “Dance of Death: The Life of John Fahey, American Guitarist” 2012 - Featured interview and performance in documentary film “In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey” 2011 - Cascade Blues Association (CBA) Namesake Muddy Award: "Terry Robb Best Acoustic Guitar" 2010 - Featured interview in documentary film “Portland Mojo:How Stumptown Got the Blues” 1992 – 2010 - CBA Muddy Award: Best Acoustic Guitar (19 consecutive years from award inception until retiring from competition in 2011) 2009 - Oregon Music Hall of Fame Inductee 2007 - Featured interview and performance in documentary film “Touch Me Someplace I Can Feel” about cartoonist John Callahan - Faculty, Centrum Slide Guitar Festival and Workshop 2006 - Featured Roots Player Spotlight in March issue of Acoustic Guitar Magazine 2005 - CBA Muddy Award: Best New Album – “Resting Place,” recorded in Memphis at Sam Phillips Studios, reaches #9 on Living Blues charts (Yellow Dog Records) 1993 – 2005 - House producer, Burnside Records 2002 - Produced Alice Stuart’s “Can’t Find No Heaven” nominated for Grammy and W.C. Handy Awards 2001 - CBA Muddy Award: Best New Album - “CBA Muddy Hall of Fame”
- Featured interview and performance from “Heart Made of Steel” on T.V. program “Oregon Art Beat” 2000 - CBA Muddy Award: Best Traditional Act - Terry Robb Trio 1998 - Oregon Symphony guest soloist - Produced John Fahey’s “Desperate Man Blues” featured in Academy Award- nominated film “The Horse Whisperer” 1984 – 1998 - Resident session guitarist, Oregon Catholic Press (OCP) 1997 - “Stop This World” reaches #1 on Living Blues charts (Burnside Records) - National tour with Steve Miller Band - Guest of NBC's “Late Night with Conan O'Brien” - Faculty, Centrum Country Blues Festival and Workshop - CBA Muddy Award: Best Traditional Act - Terry Robb Trio 1996 - Produced John Fahey’s live performance at Freight & Salvage and instructional DVDs for Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop 1995 - National tour with Buddy Guy 1994 - CBA Hall of Fame Inductee 1991 - Guest soloist of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers 1987 - Featured on Emmy-Award winning “Claymation Christmas” T.V. program and soundtrack 1984 - Produced John Fahey’s “Let Go” rated "Very Good" by Rolling Stone 1978 - Joined Frank Zappa / Captain Beefheart cohort Ramblin’ Rex - Studied music theory under classical composer Thomas Svaboda
Quotes
“Unquestionably, Robb ranks right up there with the heavy hitters, a player of dazzling skill and technique. He could go to any guitar festival and show them a few chords.” - Frank Matheis, Living Blues Magazine
"It's the rare guitarist who can whip off a killer 12-bar blues solo, then turn around and fingerpick Travis-style with speed and subtlety. Yet Portland, Oregon, guitarist and singer Terry Robb does just that." - Ian Zack, Acoustic Guitar Magazine
“From the first listen, Robb's guitar playing can blow you away...he's a favorite player in the Northwest, and a former buddy of John Fahey. Then it all makes sense.” - John Heidt, Vintage Guitar Magazine
"Terry Robb without question is one of the finest guitarists playing the blues (or any other form of music for that matter) today...he is the master of both fingerpicking and bottleneck styles with expert original and innovative readings of Delta blues, rags, spirituals, and whatever else he puts his mind too musically.” - Greg Johnson, president, Cascade Blues Association
“Whether sliding or fingerpicking, his technique is clean and articulate; no matter how busy the material gets...it never sounds crowded or overblown. You could almost imagine Robb as a classical guitarist; the soft sound of his acoustic guitar contributes to that impression, as does his remarkable precision." - Genevieve Williams, Blues Revue RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE ● John Fahey ● Mississippi John Hurt ● Ry Cooder ● Eric Clapton ● Lightnin’ Hopkins ● Davey Graham
VIDEOS
Madison Avenue Shuffle Christmas in Istanbul https://youtu.be/2rBrtZOrSLk https://youtu.be/mgYJXbEjB-A
Judge Boushay Blues Soc Hop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNnSdwm9_8o https://youtu.be/PmLwFK2CWC8
Grama Jean Ham Hound Crave https://youtu.be/rNLehxFBO7A https://youtu.be/y7PpKWmVNx0
SELECT DISCOGRAPHY Cool on the Bloom – NiaSounds, 2016 2017 Blues Blast Music Award nominee: Best Acoustic Album
“Unbridled transcendent fretboard mastery…From the opening tune "Soc Hop" on, it becomes clear that a guitarist's guitarist is taking you for a fancy ride.” – Living Blues Magazine
“On the title track “Cool On The Bloom,” he picks the hell out of his pleasure-bringing guitar ragga, it’s in-your-face undeniable that the fella knows the hell out of what he does.” – Blues Matters
When I Play My Blues Guitar Hymn Muddyvishnu Burnside Records, 2014 Oregon Catholic Press, 2013 Psychedelta Records, 2012
Resting Place Heart Made of Steel Stop This World Yellow Dog Records, 2006 Burnside Records, 2000 Burnside Records, 1996
PHOTOS
High-res images and logos are available here. Each image must include the following credit: "Photograph provided by NiaSounds” (www.niasounds.com)
CONTACT
@TerryRobbGuitar
TerryRobb.com
Management & Booking: Katie Robb, MSM 15A NE 15th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97232 USA Email: [email protected] | Phone: (503) 956-6988
General Inquiries: [email protected]
Record Label: NiaSounds | 918 SW Yamhill Street, Portland, Oregon, 97205 USA Email: [email protected] | Phone: (917) 860-2160