Road Song, Rob Ickes’ fifth solo album, is a boundary- breaking album with wondrous romps and intimate dobro-piano dialogues that reach into the emotional core of 10 great jazz standards. Jazz pianist Michael Alvey's intricate bass lines and percussive right-hand chordal punctuations have the energy of a full ensemble, while Ickes lays down melodies with precision before the duo launches into breathtaking improvisational rides. Robinella, a perfectly empathetic singer, contributes a playful give-and-take with dobro and piano, partly inspired by the great Ella Fitzgerald-Louis Armstrong collaborations. 　　 　　The 12-time winner of the Dobro Player of the Year award from the International Bluegrass Music Association, Ickes isn't content with assumed boundaries of genre. Throughout his career, as a solo artist, a sought-after sideman or a founding member of the acclaimed ensembles Blue Highway and Three Ring Circle, Ickes' intuitive ability to tap into a song's emotional essence and offer something fresh has earned him accolades and respect well beyond the Dobro's domain in country and bluegrass music. 　　 　　Ickes (rhymes w/ “bikes”) has collaborated with a wide range of musicians, including Merle Haggard, Earl Scruggs, Tony Rice, Charlie Haden, David Grisman, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, David Lee Roth, Patty Loveless, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. The youngest dobro player on The Great Dobro Sessions (1994 Grammy, Best Bluegrass Album), he was also on the Alison Krauss & The Cox Family album, I Know Who Holds Tomorrow (1994 Grammy, Best Southern Gospel), and the Patty Loveless album, Mountain Soul II (2010 Grammy, Best Bluegrass Album). 　　 　　“Rob Ickes’ new CD swings! It cooks! Ickes does for the dobro what Toots Thielemans did for the harmonica and Stephane Grappelli for the violin – he makes it a legitimate JAZZ instrument.” 　　- Mark Welch, Program Director, WKMS 　　 　　“Ickes’ playing is unfailingly deep, expressive, and emotional. He elevates the state of the art in such a startlingly beautiful way that it’s almost impossible to view the instrument the same way ever again.” 　　– Matt Blackett, Guitar Player Magazine 　　 　　"I've been listening to Rob's new album, Road Song, and hitting the ‘repeat’ button – I don't care if it's the only thing I listen to for the next year!" 　　– Tony Rice 　　 　　Previous releases: 　　 　　Solo albums: 　　Big Time (Rounder 2004) 　　What It Is (Rounder 2002) 　　Slide City (Rounder 1999) 　　Hard Times (Rounder 1997) 　　 　　With Three Ring Circle: 　　Three Ring Circle (Ear Wave) 　　 　　With Blue Highway: 　　Through the Window of a Train (Rounder 2008) 　　Marbletown (Rounder 2005) 　　Wondrous Love (Rounder 2003) 　　Still Climbing Mountains (Rounder 2001) 　　Blue Highway (Ceili Music 1999) 　　Midnight Storm (Rebel Records 1998) 　　Wind to the West (Rebel Records 1996) 　　It's a Long, Long Road (Rebel Records 1995)