"I believe we are all artists, we are all beautiful, and we are all one. One color, the color of love. Peace and happiness." - Ronnie Earl, from the liner notes of 1997’s "The Colour Of Love" disc.

  It was in 1993 with a disc called "Still River" where Ronnie Earl reinvented himself. A fixture in this area for years, many of us go back a long time with Ronnie. We remember him as the lead guitarist for Sugar Ray & The Bluetones back in the late 70’s. We were there when he was called to replace the departing Duke Robillard in Roomful of Blues back in 1979. And of course we were with him when he finally went out on his own with Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters in 1987.

  Ronnie’s legion of fans know that it was with the "Still River" record that he finally went to the all instrumental format he’s now known for. It was this incarnation of the Broadcasters with Per Hanson on drums, Bruce Katz on keyboards, and Rod Carey on bass, where Ronnie Earl blossomed into the graceful, elegant, and spiritual musician he is today. He was always good, it’s just that now he’s something special indeed - an improvisational guitarist who is equally adept at playing a Coltrane jazz tune as he is a down and dirty Magic Sam-like shuffle. Nobody can blur the boundaries between blues and jazz like Ronnie Earl. And he does it all so effortlessly.

  It was March 25th at Toad’s Place in New Haven where Ronnie Earl took time to talk about himself and his music. "I think that’s for other people to say and not for me to say," said Ronnie when asked where all this beautiful music inside him comes from. "I’m just trying to bring some happiness into the world and make people feel good through the music. I don’t know where it’s coming from really. I thought I did for a while but I don’t know. And I don’t want to be pretentious."

  This year Ronnie was nominated for a W.C. Handy award for best blues guitarist. This is an award he’s already won in 1997 after the release of a disc called "Grateful Hearts - Blues And Ballads." What was notable about that record was the inclusion of David "Fathead" Newman on tenor sax. This added another dimension to the Broadcasters already richly textured sound. "One of my biggest inspirations is Ray Charles," said Ronnie when asked about this record. "And at the core of the Ray Charles band and sound is David Fathead Newman. It would’ve been nice to have Ray on the record but I couldn’t really get him so I thought it would be great to have Fathead. You know, then on the next record we had Hank Crawford and those two are the most identifiable people in the Ray Charles band sound and I just wanted to have some of that Ray Charles sound on our record."

  Speaking of Hank Crawford, the next record Ronnie was alluding to was his 1997 release on the Verve record label called "The Colour Of Love." Hank Crawford played the alto sax on two of the cuts. However, the most notable guest on this project was the legendary blues rocker Gregg Allman who played the B3 and sang on his own composition called "Everyday Kinda Man." "It was great having him," said Ronnie. "We had just done a tour with the Allman Brothers so it was a logical thing to ask Gregg to join us. Their drummer Jaimoe is a good friend of ours and he lives in Connecticut. He’d been sitting in with us from time to time." Ronnie and the band will be hooking up with Gregg Allman again soon when they both headline the Santa Cruz blues fest on May 30th.

  There’s a new team of Broadcasters playing with Ronnie Earl these days. Local legend Little Anthony Geraci has taken over the keyboard duties. Geraci also played with Sugar Ray & The Bluetones before fronting his own band these past several years, the popular Little Anthony & The Loco-Motives. There’s also New England natives Mark Greenberg on drums and Michael "Mudcat" Ward on bass. "The cool thing about this band and the way I envisioned it was that we would be able to play jazz rooms as well as blues rooms and we do play the jazz rooms and that’s kind of nice," said Ronnie.

  So this month Ronnie will head down to Memphis, yet again, for the W.C. Handy awards. A humble man, Ronnie is not one to bask in the spotlight. "It’s a nice honor," he said when asked about the prospect of winning another Handy for best blues guitarist. "But I don’t pay it too much mind really because you still got to go out every night and play. You can’t rest on your laurels is what I’m trying to say."

  It is fitting that Ronnie Earl is honored by his peers this way. It is from his diverse array of musical influences that he has developed such a unique sound. And Ronnie, as much as anyone, never forgets to pay homage and acknowledge those musicians who have inspired him. On "The Colour Of Love" there are tracks dedicated to Jimmy Vaughan, Peter Green, and Albert Collins among others. On "Grateful Hearts" it’s Duane Allman and Carlos Santana. On "Blues Guitar Virtuoso Live In Europe" it’s Duke Robillard, T-Bone Walker, Magic Sam, and Freddie King. There are dedications such as these on all of his records.

  Ronnie Earl will continue to be an inspiration to many people. He is someone you can look up to and admire. It’s not just the music either although the music will certainly be his legacy. He has a degree in special education and has spent many years working with retarded adults. He has also taught at the National Guitar Summer Workshop and at Berklee College of music in Boston. He is also an inspiration to those battling drug and alcohol addiction. Ronnie has had his own problems in that area but he’s been clean and sober now for ten years. "When people come to see me play maybe for a while they can forget about their everyday worries and just feel better about life," said Ronnie. And isn’t that just like something Ronnie Earl would say!

P.S. Learn more about Ronnie Earl through his website at www.ronnieearl.com

By Bill Harriman