Ickes,Rob Road Song CD

Rob Ickes' fifth solo release is a boundary-breaking album with wondrous romps and intimate dobro-piano dialogues reaching into the emotional core of 10 great jazz standards. Pianist Michael Alvey's intricate bass lines and percussive right-hand chordal punctuations have the energy of a full ensemble; Ickes lays down melodies with precision before the duo launches into breathtaking improvisational rides. Robinella's perfectly empathetic vocals contribute a playful give-and-take with dobro and piano, partly inspired by the great Ella Fitzgerald-Louis Armstrong collaborations. The 10-time winner of the Dobro Player of the Year award (IBMA), Ickes isn't content with assumed boundaries of genre. Throughout his career, as a solo artist, sought-after sideman or founding member of the acclaimed ensembles Blue Highway and Three Ring Circle, his intuitive ability to tap into a song's emotional essence and offer something fresh has earned accolades and respect well beyond the Dobro's domain in country and bluegrass music.

1. Song for My Father 2. Caravan 3. You Win Again 4. Road Song 5. If I Had You 6. I Can't Make You Love Me 7. West Coast Blues 8. The Nearness of You 9. Take the 'A' Train 10. Hymn to Freedom