Enos joined Roomful Of Blues in September 1981.
Only saxophonist Rich Lataille had been with the band longer. He
appeared on every album that Roomful made, apart from its first
three releases, including a new CD, Raisin’ A Ruckus, set
to be released on January 15, 2008. Enos can also be heard with
the Roomful horn section on recordings by Pat Benatar, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, Colin James, Jimmy “T99” Nelson, and others.
Influenced by Louis Armstrong and Roy Eldridge, Enos’ driving
delivery and punching high notes put a sparkle atop the Roomful
horn section and frequently drew gasps from the audience.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1947,
Enos took up the trumpet at age 14, studied at the Boston Conservatory
of Music, and spent the late Sixties and early Seventies playing
in R&B and Soul bands. After studying with John Coffee and Ray
Copeland, he spent two of years working with the legendary Platters
(led by Herb Reed) before joining Jack Radcliffe and the New Viper
Revue. He then founded the award-winning band Channel One and was
with this Jazz fusion group for three years. After a period of freelance
work he joined Roomful, literally on the eve of the band’s
first coast-to-coast tour.
“Bob was one of a kind,” said Roomful
of Blues bandleader Chris Vachon, “a unique talent. The band
obviously feels devastated. When you work as closely together as
a band like Roomful does, each person is family - we’re like
brothers. It makes this kind of thing hard, very hard indeed.”
“He could always hit those high notes,”
said Roomful’s former bandleader Greg Piccolo. “It was
an amazing thing - I had never worked with a trumpet player who
was so consistent. It didn’t matter how tired the band was,
how long the drive to the job had been. He was always there, right
on the money. He was a bull.”
“He was a pro through and through,”
commented Bob Bell who managed Roomful for over 20 years. “He
loved the music and he loved the band. Outside of his family, it
was his life. He brought a lot of joy to an awful lot of folks.
And he was a really sweet guy.”
Enos is survived by his wife Jill, sons Louis, Jude,
and Joseph, and daughter Elizabeth.
Contributions for Bob Enos’ son Louis' education
may be sent to: Bob Enos memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o TD Bank
North, 127 South Street, Wrentham, MA 02093
Bob Enos, longtime trumpet player for Roomful of Blues, died in his
sleep in his hotel room in Douglas, Georgia, early Friday morning,
January 11, 2008, of suspected heart failure. He was 60. Roomful of
Blues had played the Douglas Country Club the previous night. The
band was on its way to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Sunday to perform
on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. Roomful is continuing
its current tour with former band member John Wolfe taking Enos’
place.