Marshal Rosenberg Percussion

Spotted in Morristown: Robin Batteau, singer, songwriter, jingle king

Of course, we talk about Robin Batteau, of Buskin & Batteau. He passed through Morristown on Thursday to a radio show on tape.

The Chestertown Spy - Folk Duo – Buskin & Batteau @ Mainstay July 16

Buskin & Batteau , called by a New York Times reviewer, “the most musically sophisticated act in folk,” will appear at the Mainstay in Rock Hall on Saturday July 16 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $20. For more information and reservations call 410-639-9133. Information is also available at the Mainstay’s website ..

Known for their romantic, gritty, elegant songs and their comedy on stage, David Buskin and Robin Batteau have made their living composing music for commercial enterprise. Advertising jingles like Robin Batteau’s “Heartbeat of America” campaign for Chevrolet and David Buskin’s “All Aboard America” sung by Richie Havens for Amtrak brought their music to millions but their heart has always been in the music they have written and recorded together since the 1970s as a trio along with percussionist Marshal Rosenberg.

Their first work together was in the late 1970s quirky folk-meets-disco band Pierce Arrow. Somehow that led to their becoming backup musicians for Tom Rush along with Marshal Rosenberg on percussion. Soon the group started writing their own material, opening for Rush and then touring as a feature act themselves.

While they are products of the small folk club boom of the 1970s and they have written for folk and pop stars such as Anne Murray, the Oak Ridge Boys (both gold records), Bette Midler, Astrud Gilberto, Peter, Paul & Mary, Johnny Mathis and Melanie, it is hard to pigeonhole them as simply folk or pop musicians. Musically they are head and shoulders above most of their contemporaries in those genres. Buskin is a brilliant pianist with classical mastery, but with his creativity takes him in unexpected directions. Batteau’s violin playing has the soul of a gypsy fiddler and his mandolin playing may remind you of a hot bluegrass picker. Both also play guitar. Their very able percussionist, Marshal Rosenberg, adds to the sound with a complicated rack of congas, chimes, bells, gourds and other unusual percussion instruments.

They are showmen in the classic sense of the word and are at their best interacting with a live audience. With their timing and sense of humor, they could have been comedians but it is their music that has led publications like the Washington Post, to describe their act as “an irresistible amalgam of melodic, sensual pop, folkie grit and killer wit.”

The operator of a Boston area venue recently said, “they made the audience very happy. Everything is intelligent. There’s no pandering….They’re smart and quick, and they talk to their audience like they’re adults. They’re really fun to be with.’’ The chemistry between the musicians may help explain their lasting appeal. In an interview with the Boston Globe, Robin Batteau said, “We complement each other so well. Each of us has as much fun accompanying the other as we do singing our own songs.

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The political history of the United States of America, during the great rebellion, including a classified summary of the legislation of the second session of the Thirty-sixth Congress, the three sessions of the Thirty-seventh Congress, the first session of the Thirty-eighth Congress, with the votes thereon, and the important executive, judicial, and politico-military facts of that eventful period; together with the organization, legislation, and general proceedings of the Rebel administration; and an appendix containing the principal political facts of the campaign of 1864, a chapter on the church and the rebellion, and the proceedings of the second session of the Thirty-eighth Congress