A defining
moment in Duarte’s young life occurred when his long-time friend,
Darrell Stafford, loaned him a guitar; an old Stella that had once
belonged to Stafford’s grandmother. At a formative time in a boy’s
life, when dreams take root, when idealism is at its strongest, when
words and melodies trigger the search for self, the loan of that old
Stella marked a pivotal point on the compass in Hugo’s young heart
and mind.
Visualize a 14 year old boy, with that loaned Stella, sitting by
the radio or dropping LPs onto a turntable and teaching himself to
play along. This is the point where Hugo began developing his own
brand of music, a style he dubbed “country music” because it wasn’t
that big a departure from what he’d grown up with. It was also
during this time period that Hugo wrote his first song called “Dance
For Me”, a song about a ballerina.
As Duarte continued to develop his music skills using various music
styles as his guide, whether it was Soul, Country, Beach music, Rock
'n Roll, Classical, a unique blend emerged and began to meld
together into his brand of “All Music”. Hence the origins of Hugo’s
eclectic style… a style that really began to surface while at the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Growing increasingly serious about his music, Duarte left college
and began playing clubs in Charlotte, North Carolina and then on the
road in places like the ‘Tween Waters Inn in Captiva, Florida and
Crow's Nest in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It wasn’t long
before he realized he could make a living doing what he loved the
best.
A few years later as he drifted down that music highway playing
gigs with his ever expanding group, The Full Sail Band, he found
himself as far south in the US as one can go. Searching for a
connection to his Cuban heritage, he arrived in the Florida Keys and
fell immediately in love with the area. |
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Hugo and
The Full Sail Band strummed and sang at Rick's, Sloppy Joes, the
Hog’s Breath Saloon, Turtle Kraals, The Bull, The Top, and Casa
Marina. Name it, Key West fans, and he's most likely played there.
It was in those early Key West years that Hugo met and developed a
professional friendship with the Calypso Poet, Jimmy Buffett.
Over the years Buffett would call or stop by when he was in town,
often sitting in with Hugo and the band. They occasionally shared
the stage at a locally owned bar called Del Rios, which today is the
site of the original Margaritaville Bar and Restaurant.
Sometimes other friend-musicians stopped by as well. Anyone happen
to be there on New Year's Eve when Hugo Duarte and The Full Sail
Band made room on stage for Jimmy Buffett, Steve Winwood, and Steve
Cropper?
Other Key West on-stage collaborations have included the likes of
Sam Clayton, Russ Kunkel, Billy Dean, Fingers Taylor, Michael Utley,
Robert Greenidge, and Larry Michael Lee. Larry Michael Lee is also
the producer of Hugo’s CDs, Another Day In Paradise, Places Along
the Road, and the soon to be released Don’t Be Fooled By The Hat.
Yes, Hugo Duarte’s music is unique. It demands something of the
listener, especially if the listener really wants to “get it”. Yes,
you can put it on in the background and it will sound great, or you
can choose to listen closely and that’s when a door to a truly
unique awareness really begins to open.
So……Why settle for standing outside and peering through the window?
Open that door and step inside…really inside, where you will hear,
see, and feel the magic.
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