About Me
Born in Oakville, Ontario Canada, Rob then grew up in Simsbury, CT. He studied classical piano beginning at age 6 and played until the age of 13 when he quit musical studies altogether. Encouraged by friends to play again, Rob picked up piano, bass and percussion instruments at the age of 16. His first group was named the Benevolent Order of Antelopes which was a hip-hop/jazz fusion group. Seeing an opening in the Simsbury High Jazz Ensemble for a bassist who could also double on piano, Rob picked up the upright bass his senior year....and never looked back.
Attending the University of Vermont was a big opportunity for Rob. Although he graduated with an International Business Management degree, Rob performed in multiple jazz ensembles each semester. Rob was the University of Vermont big band bassist for four years under the direction of Alex Stewart and had the chance to perform with Clark Terry, Paquito D'Rivera, Arturo O'Farill among other talents. Rob performed with a majority of the jazz musicians in Vermont including the Red Thread Trio, Dan Silverman Quartet, Big Joe Burrell and Friends, Cam Cross Trio, Justin Purdue Trio, Guagua Latin Jazz, Geoff Kim Trio and led many groups of his own. He also started a jam session every Friday night called the "Meow Mix" which supported local jazz musicians by giving them a chance to perform as well as advance his own playing and compositions. The jam session continued even in his absence when he moved from VT.
During his tenure in Vermont, he also lived and studied in Paris, France for 8 months. There he joined the Brownie Quintet and was quickly integrated into the jazz scene playing in many of Paris' jazz venues.
After graduating from Vermont, Duguay was accepted into the University of New Orleans graduate jazz studies program. He recieved an ASCAP award for jazz composition upon entrance to the university through the help of the Louis Armstrong Foundation. Invigorated by the historic spirit of the city, he quickly was becoming integrated and had performed in a handful of local establishments before hurricane Katrina led him to evacuate. Losing all of his written music and his instrument, he picked up and went home to his parents house in CT to rethink his strategy. He didn't have to think for long as Dr. David Demsey at William Paterson University in New Jersey offered him a place in the program. Without skipping a beat, Duguay finished his masters degree in Jazz Bass Performance in the spring of 2007. Duguay was mentored by bassist Marcus McLaurine and studied the art of ensemble playing with Mulgrew Miller, Vincent Herring, Armen Donelian, James Weidman, Gary Smulyan, Bill Goodwin, and Paul Meyers.
Rob was selected to be an intern under Dr. John Edward Hasse, jazz curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC in the summer of 2006. There he helped Dr. Hasse research for an upcoming book; plan JAM (an international jazz appreciation month which was initiated by Hasse); critique proposals for an internationally touring exhibit on jazz history...and this all while getting integrated on the jazz scene in DC. Later, Rob represented the Smithsonian at the IAJE conference in 2007.
Duguay has performed in Montreal, Quebec; Portland, Oregon; Washington, DC; New Orleans, Louisiana; Vermont; Paris, France; Montreux, Switzerland; New York; New Jersey; Philadelphia, PA; Connecticut and looks forward to adding to the list of countries and venues.
