July 2005

Guitarist Bill Frisell captures two trio performances on an upcoming live album, “East/West.” Due Aug. 9 via Nonesuch, the double-disc chronicles a set with drummer Kenny Wolleson and bassist Tony Scherr at New York’s Village Vanguard, as well as a show with Wolleson and bassist Viktor Krauss at Yoshi’s in Oakland, Calif.

Beyond covers of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” the “West” disc sports such Frisell originals as “Blues for Los Angeles,” “Boubacar” and “Pipe Down.”

“East” rounds up originals like “Ron Carter” and “The Vanguard” alongside covers of Henry Mancini’s “The Days of Wine and Roses,” Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene,” Johnny Cash’s “Tennessee Flat Top Box” and George and Ira Gershwin’s “My Man’s Gone Now.”

Nonesuch is planning to make second sets from both performances available as a special download, but specific details have yet to be confirmed.

The always-busy Frisell has tour dates lined up in various incarnations through early 2006, and will next play the Winnipeg Folk Festival Thursday (July 7) and Friday with violinist Jenny Scheinman, guitarist Greg Leisz and banjo player Danny Barnes.

Frisell has also recorded a new album with multi-instrumentalist Petra Haden, due in October via Sovereign Artists. The set features interpretations of the Foo Fighters’ “Floaty,” Coldplay’s “Yellow,” Elliott Smith’s “Satellite,” Stevie Wonder’s “I Believe” and Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up,” among others.

Of perhaps most interest to fans is Frisell’s contribution to Paul Simon’s long-in-the-works new album, but no release date has been announced for the Warner Bros. set, which is being produced by Brian Eno.

Here is the track list for “East/West”:

Disc one (“West”):
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
“Blues for Los Angeles”
“Shenandoah”
“Boubacar”
“Pipe Down”
“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”

Disc two (“East”):
“My Man’s Gone Now”
“The Days of Wine and Roses”
“You Can Run”
“Ron Carter”
“Interlude”
“Goodnight Irene”
“The Vanguard”
“People”
“Crazy”
“Tennessee Flat Top Box”

]i] Source billboard.com.

The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey have been moving at a dizzying pace since the release of their critically-acclaimed recording, Walking With Giants, on HYENA Records in August 2004. Tour dates have led them from California to New York and back again multiple times over, while individually, pianist Brian Haas has just released his first ever solo album, The Truth About Hollywood, bassist Reed Mathis has stepped up his appearances as a special guest of the Steve Kimock Band and drummer Jason Smart continues to split his time as the drummer for Robert Walter’s 20th Congress.

In July 2005, the Tulsa/Cincinnati-based trio will head out for a string of shows as the hand-selected opening act for ingenious bassist, Les Claypool. The tour comes on the heels of high profile performances at the JVC Jazz Festival’s “New York Now” night and the High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, CA. The band has also just completed the recording of basic tracks in New York City for a new album being produced by veteran producer Joel Dorn (Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Neville Brothers, Leon Redbone). The album, tentatively scheduled for release in October 2005, is set to include JFJO’s highly distinctive and one-of-a-kind interpretations of music by Bjork, The Flaming Lips and Charles Mingus, as well as, original material developed “live” over the last year, including audience favorites “Santiago” and “Halliburton Breakdown.”

In addition to upcoming opening dates with Les Claypool, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey will appear at Minnesota’s “10, 000 Lakes Music Festival,” Chicago’s “Wicker Park Music Festival” and launch a West Coast headline tour in August.

The tour dates are:

July 7 & 8 / Boulder, CO / The Fox Theater (w/ Les Claypool)
July 9 / Lawrence, KS / The Grenada (w/ Les Claypool)
July 11 / Atlanta, GA / The Variety (w/ Les Claypool)
July 12 / Asheville, NC / Orange Peel (w/ Les Claypool)
July 14 / Columbus, OH / Newport Music Hall (w/ Les Claypool)
July 15 / Covington, KY / The Madison Theater (Headline Show)
July 16 / Cleveland Heights, OH / The Grog Shop (Headline Show)
July 19 / Hamilton, Ontario / Pepperjacks
July 20 / Royal Oak, MI / Royal Oak Theater (w/ Les Claypool)
July 22 / Detroit Lakes, MN / 10, 000 Lakes Music Festival
July 30 / Chicago, IL / Wicker Park Music Festival

August Dates To Be Announced Shortly.

Icelandic rock act Sigur Ros is eyeing a September release for its as-yet-untitled new album. According to the band’s official Web site, the 11-track set is sung mostly in Sigur Ros’ native tongue; frontman Jonsi Thor Birgisson has previously sung in his own language, “Hopelandish.” It will be released internationally by EMI and in North America via Geffen.

The site says “Gong” and “Milano” are the lone tracks that have previously been performed live. The as-yet-unnamed first single from the album is expected to hit digital download retailers in August.

A one-off show in Hawaii is scheduled for Aug. 9, about a month before a North American tour opens Sept. 6 in Atlanta.

Here are Sigur Ros’ tour dates:

July 8: Glasgow (Academy)
July 9: Manchester, England (Lowry Theatre)
July 10: London (Somerset House)
July 12: Paris (Olympia)
July 13: Amsterdam (Paradiso)
July 14: Brussels (Cirque Royal)
July 16: Copenhagen (Vega)
July 17: Hamburg (Stadtpark)
July 19: Frankfurt (Jahrhunderthalle)
July 20: Berlin (Columbiahalle)
July 22: Munich (Circus Krone)
July 23: Nyon, Switzerland (Paleo Festival)
July 25: Rome (Cavea Auditorium)
July 26: Milan (Villa Arconati)
July 31: Naeba, Japan (Fuji Rock Festival)
Aug. 3: Melbourne (Hamer Hall)
Aug. 4: Sydney (the Enmore)
Aug. 5: Brisbane, Australia (Tivoli)
Aug. 9: Honolulu (Hawaii Theatre)
Sept. 6: Atlanta (Symphony Hall)
Sept. 7: Durham, N.C. (Carolina Theatre)
Sept. 9: Philadelphia (Tower Theatre)
Sept. 11: Strathmore, Md. (Music Center)
Sept. 12-13: New York (Beacon Theatre)
Sept. 15: Boston (Opera House)
Sept. 16: Montreal (Theatre Masionneeuve)
Sept. 18: Ottawa, Ont. (TBA)
Sept. 19: Toronto (Massey Hall)
Sept. 20: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Theatre)
Sept. 21: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
Sept. 23: Madison, Wis. (Orpheum Theatre)
Sept. 24: Minneapolis (State Theatre)
Sept. 27: Vancouver (Orpheum Theatre)
Sept. 28: Seattle (Paramount Theatre)
Sept. 29: Portland, Ore. (Roseland Theatre)
Oct. 1: Oakland, Calif. (Paramount Theatre)
Oct. 3: San Diego (Copley Symphony Hall)
Oct. 5: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)
Oct. 6: Las Vegas (the Joint)

Source billboard.com.

After a successful run as the main support act for Hot Hot Heat, Robbers on High Street have confirmed a Summer tour with Detroit songwriter Brendan Benson, which will kick off July 26th at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre. The band also looks forward to being featured on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition on Sunday, July 17th (air times will vary in different regions). In addition, the band’s song “Love Underground” will be featured on THE WEDDING CRASHERS ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK.

Since the release of the band’s album TREE CITY in February 2005, the band has been hailed for their melodically inventive songwriting and their full, dynamic arrangements using strings and horns. Along with Alternative Press, Blender, The Washington Post, Nylon, Billboard and many others, Rolling Stone raved that TREE CITY is “A smart rock debut [with] wry, whip-smart lyrics and piano-driven melodies.”

Brendan Benson Tourdates are as follow. Many more to be announced shortly:

July 15: Mercury Lounge (Robbers headline, Not with BB)
July 21: Indianapolis, IN: Vogue Theatre/Midwest Music Summit (not with BB)

With Brendan Benson:
July 26: Los Angeles, CA: El Rey
July 27: San Diego, CA: The Casbah
July 28: Tempe, AZ: Clubhouse
July 30: Denver, CO: Larimer Lounge
August 1: Minneapolis, MN: 400 Bar
August 3: St. Louis, MO: Blueberry Hill
August 4: Indianapolis, IN: Birdy;s
August 5: Newport, KY (Cincinnati, OH): Southgate House
August 6: Chicago, IL: Metro

The Arcade Fire, !!!, Blackalicious, Nouvelle Vague, Annie, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Wrens, Kaki King and Atmosphere are among the first acts confirmed for the 25th annual CMJ Music Marathon, which will be held Sept. 14-17 throughout venues in New York.

Other artists who have signed on to perform are the Hold Steady, Dungen, John Vanderslice, Against Me!, the Constantines, Battles, Kinski, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Rogue Wave, Early Man, Channels, Dirty On Purpose, Walking Concert, Athlete, Acid Mothers Temple and Funeral For A Friend.

Day-time panel discussions, which will be held at Lincoln Center, will focus on everything from securing sponsorship deals and health insurance to the impact of blogging and podcasting on the music industry.

Source billboard.com.

Arizona-based rock act Calexico is at work on its next studio album, which should be out in the spring of 2006 via Touch & Go. “We did some work here in Tucson earlier this summer,” group member Joey Burns tells Billboard.com. “We’ll probably meet up again in August when we get back from doing European festivals.”

The group worked with producer J.D. Foster, who has worked with everyone from Dwight Yoakam and Marc Ribot to Nancy Sinatra and Alejandro Escovedo. Tracks being eyed for the set include “Bisbee Blue,” “All Systems Red,” “Deep Down” and “Lucky Dime.”

“The songs have that moodiness and ambience, but there’s also some more electric, rockin’ numbers,” Burns says of the new material, some of which Calexico will unveil during a spate of summer shows, which begin July 14 in New York.

The as-yet-untitled album will be the follow-up to 2003’s “Feast of Wire,” which debuted at a career-best No. 23 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart. An EP, “Convict Pool,” was issued last year, led by a cover of Love’s “Alone Again Or.”

“That cover worked out really well for us,” Burns says. “We were playing that song and covering it all last summer while [Love leader] Arthur [Lee] was touring with the Love reunion. We just kept missing each other, but we kept hearing reports of people who had seen him. We never ran into him. If he’s still living in Los Angeles, I’m sure we’ll cross paths at some point.”

In between the new Calexico album and a previously reported collaborative EP with Iron & Wine, Burns and drummer John Convertino have also contributed to singer/songwriter Neko Case’s upcoming Anti- album.

Here are Calexico’s tour dates:

July 14: New York (Castle Clinton/Battery Park)
July 16: Ottawa, Ontario (Cisco Systems Bluesfest)
July 17: Quebec City, Quebec (Festival D’Ete International)
July 20: Antwerp, Belgium (Rivierenhof)
July 21: Duisburg, Germany (World Games Plaza)
July 22: Lorrach, Germany (Marktplatz)
July 23: Jacetano, Spain (El Pireneus del Sur Festival)
July 27: Berlin (Popdeurope Festival)
July 28: Wien, Austria (Jazzfest)
July 29: Nurenberg, Germany (Bardentreffen)
July 30: Feldkirch, Austria (Poolbar Festival)
July 31: Roseto, Italy (Soundlab Festival)
Aug. 2: Alberobello, Italy (Experimenta Festival)
Aug. 3: Pula, Croatia (Open Air)
Aug. 5: Creete, Greece (Amphitheatre)

Source billboard.com.