Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters Are Live on
New CD, Just for Today, Coming April 9
From Stony Plain Records
EDMONTON, AB – Stony Plain records announces an April 9 release date for Just for Today,
the new CD from legendary guitarist Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters,
recorded live at The Regent Theatre, The Natick Center for the Arts and
The Narrows Center for the Arts, venues all located in his home state
of Massachusetts. Acknowledged as one of the best guitarists on the
planet, Ronnie Earl celebrates the 25th year of the band with
long-time Broadcasters’ members Lorne Entress – drums, Dave Limina –
piano and Hammond B3 and Jim Mouradian – bass. Singer Diane Blue is a
special guest vocalist, and Nicholas Tabarias joins in on guitar for two
songs.
On Just for Today,
listeners get an up-close, front-row seat into what has made Ronnie
Earl one of the most intense and passionate guitarists of his
generation, as he squeezes every ounce of his soul into each string
bend, guitar phrase and note throughout the mostly-instrumental 13 songs
contained on the new CD. As always, Ronnie pays tribute to many of his
mentors and influences such as Otis Rush (“Rush Hour”), Hubert Sumlin
(“Blues for Hubert Sumlin”) and Robert Nighthawk (“Robert Nighthawk
Stomp”). Sprinkled in among the many original songs is a unique cover of
John Coltrane’s “Equinox,” as well as signature takes on the
aforementioned “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” and “I’d Rather Go Blind,”
(which also features Diane Blue on vocals). Guitarist Nicholas Tabarias
guests on “Rush Hour,” as well as the band original, “Jukein’.”
Just for Today is Ronnie Earl’s seventh album for Stony Plain and follows his acclaimed 2010 release, Spread the Love,
which drew universal praise for its power, soulfulness and
spirituality, traits which have become the hallmarks of all his
recordings.
“… an album of rare joy and soul from a master who has reached another pinnacle in his playing,” wrote Steve Morse of The Boston Globe. “With
the Broadcasters, Ronnie’s latest release shows him to be one of the
most soulful blues/soul/jazz guitarists working today,”
said j. Poet in his San Francisco Examiner review.
“The pacing, segues and production are masterfully done, and the
unbridled passion in his playing creates a joyous, uplifting vibe,”
added Jeff Johnson in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Born
in Queens, New York, in 1953, Ronnie Earl’s journey to become one of
the top guitar players in the world began quite late, since he didn’t
pick up his first guitar until age 20. Inspired by Muddy Waters, T-Bone
Walker, B.B. King, Freddie King, Otis Rush, Big Walter Horton and The
Fabulous Thunderbirds, Ronnie quickly developed his six-string skills,
playing with an intensity that continues to this day. He has played with
such greats as Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Earl King, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, and The Allman Brothers as well as several of the musicians
that inspired him early on.
From
1979 to 1988, Earl played with a number of groups before forming his
own band, The Broadcasters, named after the first Fender Telecaster
guitar called the Broadcaster. The current Broadcasters line-up have
played together for over 13 years and continue to tour, playing their
inspired sounds for grateful audiences everywhere, spreading Ronnie’s
gospel of love and healing through music.
As Ronnie Earl says in the liner notes for Just for Today, “Always carry hope and an open heart in your life. Don’t quit before the miracle happens.”
Publicity (United States):
Mark Pucci, Mark Pucci Media
Publicity (Canada):
Richard Flohil, Richard Flohil & Associates
Record Company:
Stony Plain, Box 861, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2L8
Website:
www.stonyplainrecords.com
Ronnie Earl (born Ronald Horvath, March 10, 1953, Queens, New York, United States) is an American blues guitarist and music instructor.
Earl collected blues, jazz, rock and soul records while growing up. He studied American History at C.W. Post College on Long Island for a year and a half, then moved to Boston to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Special Education and Education at Boston University where he would graduate in 1975. He spent a short time teaching handicapped children. It was during his college years that he attended a Muddy Waters concert at the Jazz Workshop in Boston. After seeing Waters perform, Earl took a serious interest in the guitar, which he had first picked up in 1973. His first job was as a rhythm guitarist at The Speakeasy, a blues club in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition to playing in the Boston blues scene, Earl traveled twice by Greyhound Bus to Chicago, where he was introduced to the Chicago blues scene by Koko Taylor.
Later he traveled to New Orleans and Austin, Texas, where he spent time with Kim Wilson, Jimmie Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. In 1979 he joined The Roomful of Blues as lead guitarist for the band.
He began performing solo in 1986, in addition to playing with Roomful of Blues, and he released his first solo album on the Black Top Records label with a quartet that focused on blues instrumentals. After leaving Roomful of Blues, he began collaborations with contemporaries Ron Levy and Jerry Portnoy, Earl King, Jimmy Rogers, and Jimmy Witherspoon.
In 1988 Earl formed his own band that he called The Broadcasters, named after the first Fender guitar which originally had been labeled The Broadcaster and was distributed in 1950. The first group of Broadcasters included Darrell Nulisch (vocalist), Jerry Portnoy (harmonica), Steve Gomes (bass), and Per Hanson (drums). In 1988 they released their first album, Soul Searchin, followed by Peace of Mind in 1990. Their album Language of the Soul was released in 1994. The lineup for the Broadcasters for that album was Bruce Katz (keyboards), Per Hanson (drums) and "Rocket" Rod Carey (bass). The next album The Colour of Love, featured Marc Quinones (percusion) and Gregg Allman (keyboards). The association lead to Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters opening for the Allman Brothers Band at Great Woods, and Warren Haynes (guitar for the Allman Brothers Band) sitting in with Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters at Johnnie D's in Somerville. Later Katz joining the Gregg Allman Band.
In 2000, Earl was diagnosed with several medical ailments, and scaled back his touring, as well as re-evaluating his career plans. The current group of Broadcasters, Jimmy Mouradian (bass), Dave Limina (organ), and Lorne Entress (drums), began playing together prior to the 2003 release of I Feel Like Going On and, in 2009, released Living in the Light, their fifth release from Stony Plain Records. In 2008, Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters celebrated twenty years as a band, and by August, 2010, Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters released Spread the Love.
Earl is a two-time Blues Music Award winner as Guitar Player of the Year. For five years he was an Associate Professor of Guitar at Berklee College of Music and, in 1995, he released Ronnie Earl: Blues Guitar with Soul, an instructional VHS tape that was then re-released in DVD format in 2005. Earl was also the blues instructor at the 'National Guitar Summer Workshop'.
In early 2004, Earl's "Hey Jose" won in the third Independent Music Awards for Best Blues/R&B Song
May 29–June 1
