Bassist/Composer Robin Duhe has emerged to the forefront after
performing for three decades with the R&B group, Maze Featuring
Frankie Beverly. Duhe took an unexpected turn in 2004 with the
release of his first solo CD, Do It Duhe. He has now launched
is second CD, Life.
Duhe was born in Oakland, California. He came from a large musical
family. In the third grade, Duhe learned to play the trumpet.
In high school, he switched to the French horn and performed in
various school orchestras and bands. The best moment of Duhe’s
high school band experience was performing at the New York World’s
Fair. Eventually, Duhe changed from wind to string instruments.
This occurred when his mother gave him a four-string guitar. He
strummed that guitar like a bass and found his niche, the bass
guitar.
After high school, Duhe performed around the San Francisco Bay
Area. He played with the Soul Messengers, a group who backed many
artists including Etta James, Bobby Womack, and Ruddy Raymore.
While in college, Duhe was introduced to members of Frankie Beverly’s
Band. Duhe quickly joined the band and performed around the world
with that group for over thirty years. That band became known
as Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly.
Over time, Duhe’s music has evolved. He focused exclusively
on the R&B sound for the first thirty years of his musical
career. In his Do It Duhe CD, Duhe’s music changed to Smooth
Jazz with R&B undertones. In his Life CD, his music is seasoned
with a variety of genres. It ranges from sensual and silky Smooth
Jazz, to spicy and soulful R&B, to Funk music with a jazzy
hook, to Message Music.
Ironically, during the writing of Life, Duhe suffered the devastating
illness of cancer. He wrote the title tune, Life (Gets in the
Way), after his recovery. That song echoes Duhe’s personal
experiences in dealing with the disease. The opening line of the
title tune is straightforward and honest. It says, “Sorry,
I can’t make it today; suddenly my world has changed.”
As a whole, the Life CD is stirring music that is filled with
the emotions and the life experiences of a true artist.