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.