Biography

For more information, contact:
Michael Frank, CEO
Earwig Music Company, Inc.
2054 W. Farwell Ave.
Chicago, IL 60645
mfrank@earwigmusic.com
office phone 773-262-0278
Click here to go to Earwig Music Company
Click here to go to Blessings and Blues Volume 1
Click here to go to Blessings and Blues Volume 2

From hot Balkan-Gypsy grooves to mythical medieval Scandinavian songs, from exotic Greek “Blues” to familiar American Klezmer and Dixieland dance tunes, this wildly eclectic world music dance band serves up delicious “sole” food for every taste.

The band’s sound is as unusual as it’s repertoire. The core trio (Terran Doehrer, Jutta Distler, and Zoi Doehrer), draws upon ten different instruments (Bulgarian end-blown flute, mandolin, violin, baglama, ocarina, guitar, tupon, darabuka, ring drum, and drum set) in shaping the color of a song. The energetic group happily crosses musical borders by, for example, using a Bulgarian flute and Balkan drums on a medieval Danish song. Their goal: make the music sound super and have a great groove.

To further these goals, the Hi-Dukes like to add other musicians, usually multi-instrumentalists. This CD features the cornet, flugelhorn, trumpet and saxophone work of Peter Bartels, the accordion playing of longtime Hi-Duke Velizar Shumanov, and bassist Steven Hart’s tuba playing.

All this musical diversity is rooted in a long time history as unique as the band’s musical style and instrumentation. Back in 1980, Terran Doehrer founded his first band, the Balkan Rhythm Band™, which won the N.A.I.R.D. award for Best Ethnic Record of the Year. When Terran teamed up with Jutta Distler in 1990, they broadened the band’s jazzy-Balkan focus to include other types of ethnic music, so it made sense to change the band’s name to Jutta & the Hi-Dukes™. They drew the new group’s repertoire from Terran’s other two bands (Razzemetazz™ and the Ensemble M’Chaiya™), and from two bands he and Jutta created together (Nordland Band™ and Terran’s Greek Band™). All of a sudden the Hi-Dukes had a 300 tune book which has grown to over 500 pieces including a sprinkling of originals like Distler’s waltz, “Lyse Nætter,” which graces this CD.

Jutta & the Hi-Dukes’ unique nature and their infectious, enthusiastic energy captivate audiences. For that reason, festivals like Michigan’s BlissFest and Wisconsin’s Shawano Fest repeatedly invite the band back. The group has toured the United States, Canada, and Europe. Performances include the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Chicago’s Folk and Roots Fest, the Taste of Chicago, the Summer Olympic Games in Buffalo, NY, the Body in Santa Fe, NM, Tingluti in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the University of Århus, Denmark.

Wherever and for whomever they play, the Hi-Dukes are sure to get folks dancing, at least in their seats if not on their feet. This CD, that celebrates the band’s 21st Anniversary, is also sure to get folks at home grooving “On the World Beat”!


“Jutta & the Hi-Dukes,” “Hi-Dukes,” and “Modal Music” are trademarks of Modal Music, Inc. All Rights Reserved