San Diego’s music community is filled with stellar players that haven’t received their just dues. Sure, they draw locally, but despite major contributions to the arts, they are often overlooked by the media. Such is the case with guitarist Robin Henkel.
Though considered a master of the blues slide guitar he is, in fact, adept at a number of musical styles, including jazz.
On June 10, Henkel will host a CD release party at Dizzy’s for his ninth album, “Awesome Possum.” He will be joined by three blues favorites in their own rights, Kellie Rucker, Ben Hernandez and Billy Watson “” all of whom appear on the record.
For Henkel, music has been a lifelong obsession.
“My mom gave me a ukulele when I was in third grade; that got the ball rolling,” he remembered.
Soon afterwards, he had mastered a few chords, and at a class show-and-tell session he played “Swanee River” for his fellow students. Oddly enough, it was the fact that he made a flub on the song that pushed him toward a life as a performer.
“I made a mistake and the kids laughed, but I remember not being worried about it and just persevered. At the end, everyone cheered, and I was hooked,” he said.
His parents often took him to area coffeehouses in the early ’60s to catch the latest folk acts coming through town, such as Pete Seeger, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.
“Years later, when I was 10, I saw the guitarist Josh White, who changed my life,” he quipped.
Catching a performance from White cast a heavy spell over Henkel, who is still in awe, some four decades later, of White’s six-string prowess.
Henkel is at home playing with different-size combos, from blues duos to 80-piece symphonies. But he cites an appearance alongside Rucker, when they opened for legendary trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie at the old Bacchanal club in Clairemont, as an all-time favorite.
“During our set, a spontaneous cheer and applause went up from the audience. Kellie and I had no idea what for; it was just one of those weird things that goes by,” he laughed. “Later, I was informed that Dizzy had opened the stage door from the dressing room and appeared behind us onstage where we didn’t see him, doing one of his funky little dances that used to tick-off Cab Calloway back in the 1940s.”
In addition to his concerts, Henkel is also a music instructor, imparting his knowledge to future generations of musicians.
“He’s the best,” enthused Anna Troy, a former Henkel student and now a respected blues artist on her own. “It’s hard not to be inspired by Robin when you watch him play. He really understands a song and what makes it work. Even when he’s doing material that’s been interpreted hundreds of times before, say an old Robert Johnson classic, for example, he’ll still find different nuances than might be expected and breathe passion into it.”
Each of Henkel’s albums since 2000 has been nominated for a San Diego Music Award, and while Henkel doesn’t want to count his chickens before they’ve hatched, he has taken those nominations into account with the title of his new album.
Based on a favorite expression, he “just thought it would be funny if the album was nominated and that title was read out over the PA to thousands of people.”
Longtime fans will consider “Awesome Possum” essential listening, while novices will find it a great way to check out a San Diego institution.
Henkel and friends will perform the album in its entirety at this special performance, with a few choice bonus cuts to round out the night.
A dynamic and sometimes manic performer, Henkel performances are never less than a barn-storming good time, custom-made for anyone who enjoys Americana, blues or simply terrific music played with heartfelt passion.
For more information, please visit http://www.dizzyssandiego.com. Tickets are $10.