Dee Robinson – Dee From Decatur
Dee Robinson has the kind of credentials most performers lack. He’s actually a member of the community that he represents through his music. He is a Black man who plays the same strain of music as his forebears did, all the way back to his great-great-grandfather. In his case that’s a hundred fifty years and fifteen hundred miles removed. The details are a little foggy and the repertoire differs; nevertheless, it’s clearly Piedmont style Country Dance music. By the time he got serious with it, the older members of his family had passed on. With nobody left to learn the old songs from, Dee searched for and learned what was available to him. He found his way to YouTube and a more global approach. His repertoire comes straight from the hagiography of Piedmont style pickers: Mississippi John Hurt, Etta Baker, Elizabeth Cotten and the pre-war blues people he’s encountered there and elsewhere. Because his learning process depends on listening for every note, he gets nuances and details that others might miss.
Release Date June 20, 2025. Check out the album here: https://riverlark.com/product/dee-robinson-dee-from-decatur/