Robert Quine

Robert Quine

Robert Wolfe Quine (December 30, 1942 – May 31, 2004) was an American guitarist, known for his innovative guitar solos.

A native of Akron, Ohio, Quine worked with a wide range of musicians, though he himself remained relatively unknown in comparison. Critic Mark Demming writes "Quine's eclectic style embraced influences from jazz, rock, and blues players of all stripes, and his thoughtful technique and uncompromising approach led to rewarding collaborations with a number of visionary musicians."

His collaborators included Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Lou Reed (notably on The Blue Mask), Brian Eno (on Nerve Net), John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Marc Ribot, Marianne Faithfull (Strange Weather), Lloyd Cole, Tom Waits (Rain Dogs), Matthew Sweet, Odds, Jody Harris (Escape), and many more, including a rare 7" by Lester Bangs.

Rock critic and friend Lester Bangs once said of him:

Someday Quine will be recognized for the pivotal figure that he is on his instrument — he is the first guitarist to take the breakthroughs of early Lou Reed and James Williamson and work through them to a new, individual vocabulary, driven into odd places by obsessive attention to On the Corner-era Miles Davis.

Quine was a nephew of the philosopher W. V. Quine and second cousin once removed of The Black Keys' guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach.