Chris Duarte Group

Born on 16 February 1963 in San Antonio, Texas, the gifted guitarist and songwriter headed to Austin late in the 1970s and quickly became part of the city’s thriving club circuit. A stint alongside Bobby Mack preceded his breakthrough on the blues circuit with the 1994 album Texas Sugar/Strat Magik, recorded with bassist John Jordan and drummer Brannen Temple. The release earned instant praise for its raw, forceful southern blues approach, and attention focused especially on Duarte’s technical command. In Guitar World’s 1995 Readers’ Poll he placed fourth among blues guitarists, trailing only Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy and B.B. King, while the same poll ranked Texas Sugar/Strat Magik fourth among blues albums. He characterized the trio’s music as “blues based, but it has that loud aggressive edge that punk had. I liked Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, Dead Boys, anything that was hard.” Dennis Herring, a one-time Los Angeles session player whose prior credits included Camper Van Beethoven and Throwing Muses, was chosen to produce. The record was subsequently supported by American dates supporting Buddy Guy. Tailspin Headwhack extended the debut’s blues foundation through the addition of tape loops, wah-wah effects and selective sampling. Following a three-year break and a shift to the Zoë label, Duarte reappeared with Love Is Greater Than Me. His current power trio features drummer Damien Lewis and bassist Dustin Sargent, both of whom also appear on Blue Velocity.