Chris Duarte – Ain't Giving Up

19-05-2023

Chris Duarte (born February 16, 1963) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Duarte plays a style of Texas blues-rock that draws on elements of jazz, blues, and rock and roll. In his own words, his musical style is a combination of "rockin' blues" and "punk blues." To classify Chris Duarte simply as a Blues Man is an understatement. In his own words, "rockin' blues" or "punk blues" describes him best. "Ferocious blues" also fits. Legend has it that Chris will play so hard that his fingers bleed in a set. The legend is true. Photos attest. Chris Duarte is a road warrior playing more than 150 dates a year. As well, Chris has headlined major festivals and clubs throughout the US, Canada and Europe. Chris is a savant, a sorcerer of tone, a master at channeling the spirits and sounds of great musicians of our past, while remaining completely recognizable in his own sound. He has shared his stage with many of the greatest musicians of our time as well as the multitude of "young lions" and local musicians he meets on the road. From his many years as a side man in Austin, he easily changes roles from front to side, graciously allowing all to share the conversation of the jam. Chris Duarte's music is ever changing. In many interviews, he has said "Music must evolve." His own early offerings often become magical journeys into changing tempo and jazzy interludes before returning to their core. With such a vast catalog of recordings, there are no two shows alike. Every set list is different, and each song may be offered distinctly, based on the feel of a show and the audience. For those reasons, loyal fans often return to a Chris Duarte show again and again, and always walk away awed and satisfied to have witnessed such a legendary, but humble guitarist. The Chris Duarte Group emerged on the scene out of Austin, Texas in the early 90's and gained notoriety after wowing a packed room of industry insiders at the South X Southwest convention. In the wake of Stevie Ray Vaughan's passing, Duarte quickly gained a National reputation as young man imbued with a playing style comparable at times to the late guitarist. After fielding interest from a number of labels, Duarte signed to Silvertone Records and his debut album "Texas Sugar/Strat Magik" reportedly sold in excess of 100,000 units in the United States, no small feat for a blues/rock guitarist. This coupled with Duarte's strong commitment to touring, was the impetus for Chris' winning the "Best New Talent" in Guitar Player's 1995 Reader's Poll. He also finished fourth in the magazine's "Best Blues Guitarist" category that year behind legends Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and B.B. King. Austin-based guitarist, songwriter, and singer Chris Duarte has often been compared with the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's heady stuff for the musician, who plays a rhythmic style of Texas blues-rock that is at times reminiscent of Vaughan's sound, and at other times reminiscent of Johnny Winter. The truth is, Duarte has his own sound that draws on elements of jazz, blues, and rock & roll. Although he is humbled by the comparisons with the late Vaughan, the San Antonio-raised musician began playing out in clubs there when he was 15 years old. After Duarte moved to Austin when he was 16, he began taking his guitar playing much more seriously, and at that time, Vaughan was still around playing in Austin-area clubs. Duarte was one of those lucky few thousand who got to see Vaughan at the Continental Club before the late guitarist got his first break with David Bowie. After a short stint in an Austin jazz band, Duarte joined Bobby Mack & Night Train and began getting heavily into blues at that point. He traveled all over Texas with that band before a big break came his way in 1994, when New York-based Silvertone Records released his critically praised debut album, "Texas Sugar/Strat Magik". Blues-roots guitarist Chris Duarte releases Ain't Giving Up, his 15th studio album. Featuring a wide range of outlaw blues, Americana, roots, and even alt-country influences, "Ain't Giving Up" finds the Austin, Texas guitarist teaming up for the first time in 22 years with producer-guitarist Dennis Herring, also known for his work with artists like Buddy Guy, Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello, and the Hives. But the resulting album isn't a calculated return to roots affair. Recorded live on the studio floor with vintage gear and minimal overdubs, it's a raw and revved-up showcase for the virtuoso's jaw-dropping chops; his mastery of the elusive Texas shuffle; and his deep love and commitment to the blues. Ain't Giving Up is intimate and gritty, but it also boasts pristine fidelity, as if we the listener are in the studio with Duarte and his buddies. It's a reset for Duarte that shows his resilience and his undiminished love of the blues and American roots. "I am so grateful to be signed to Provogue and to work with Dennis again-it's been a dream come true," Duarte enthuses. "I have been so fortunate to play music and do my thing for almost 30 years, and I couldn't ask for a better life." 2023 release. Reunited with producer Dennis Herring, who produced his best selling record "Texas Sugar Strat Magik", Chris Duarte has recorded his new album live with a lot of vintage equipment, following a path many others are taking. Whether it improves is a matter of taste, but vintage equipment is in fashion nowadays. Still, recording live in one take does give an extra dimension, it is pure and honest. What makes this way of recording sound so good is that raw, it's artless, a form that Chris has always had in his playing. It is a feeling that he does not wish to give up, "Ain't giving up", nor do I would say. His punk or rocking blues grind and rock as usual. The slapping bass in a song like 'Bye Bye Bye' says enough about Chris Duarte's roots. Also the Texas shuffle, he is a master at that, as he shows in the instrumental Can opener, it's like hearing Stevie Ray play himself. Chris Duarte extends the vintage sound, which I also appreciated with GA-20, in the fat groovy blues 'Gimme your love', the guitar piece box does the rest. The album is full of tracks like this; the death pounding 'Come my way', the shuffles 'Half as good as two' and 'Lies, Lies Lies' The title track 'Ain't giving up' is Texas blues with that slapping bass here too, which is continued in Look what you made me do. That mix of blues with rock 'n roll has that looseness that can turn a Juke joint upside down. It is so contagious, where you can also extend the whole thing in third gear to further increase the joy of the party. The album closes with the slow blues 'Weak days', telling about the days of the week when things don't go so well, to continue on the weekend until the money runs out. Now it is true that this may apply to a musician, who usually earns his money in the weekend. This song shows the versatility of Chris Duarte as a guitarist, a fat slow blues. "Ain't Giving Up" by Chris Duarte is an album with a vintage feel, full of rock'n roll blues. "Ain't giving up", I hope so because I like more of this kind of blues. Chris Duarte emerged in the early '90s as a hotshot guitar slinger in the vein of Stevie Ray Vaughan. He's never shaken that reputation in the subsequent decades, nor has he attempted to lose it: he's a purveyor of lively blues-rock steeped in the Texas tradition. "Ain't Giving Up" falls squarely in that category, there are times when Duarte's Strat sounds gargantuan, as on the opening fanfare to the SRV-inspired instrumental "Can Opener", but where his albums have sometimes seemed like extended excuses to jam, this 2023 set keeps the focus on songs and boogie. The concision and precision, when combined with heavier rhythms and distorted vocals, make "Ain't Giving Up" sound like a rocking roadhouse, tunes that keep a beer joint hopping from happy hour to last call. It's not only a welcome variation on Duarte's Lone Star blues, it might be the most fun he's ever had on record.

1 Nobody But You 3:17

2 Big Fight 4:27

3 Bye,Bye,Bye 3:13

4 Can Opener 4:09

5 Gimme Your Love 4:38

6 Come My Way 5:19

7 Half As Good As Two 3:28

8 Lies Lies Lies 3:03

9 Ain't Giving Up On Us 3:42

10 Look What U Made Me Do 4:43

11 The Real Low Down 3:35

12 Weal Days 7:01