August 11, 2006

Pianist Brad Mehldau and guitarist Pat Metheny have teamed for a collaborative album, “Metheny Mehldau,” due Sept. 12 via Nonesuch. The 10-track set features a blend of each artist’s material, including some tracks recorded with Mehldau’s trio of bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard.

Mehldau and Metheny had never played together before hitting a New York studio last December. “Those days in December were some of the most creatively satisfying days I have ever had as a musician,” Metheny enthuses. “When it was all done and it was time to listen back to everything, I was taken aback by what I heard. It seemed like we always played together.”

The album opens with a new version of Mehldau’s “Unrequited,” which previously appeared on his album “Art of the Trio, Vol. 3: Songs,” as well as Metheny’s “Ring of Life,” which features Mehldau’s trio.

The artists are planning a tour beginning next March, but beforehand, Mehldau has solo and trio performances on tap through early December. As previously reported, Metheny will recreate his recording of Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint” at an Oct. 21 concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall in honor of Reich’s 70th birthday.

Source billboard.com.

Velour Music Group has announced fall tour dates for Kaki King in support of her third album, …Until We Felt Red, out August 8th. The tour kicks off September 7th at New York’s Knitting Factory and wraps up October 23rd at the Paradise in Boston.

On tour, Kaki will reveal a whole new side of her musicianship. Known as the it-girl of instrumental acoustic guitar since the release of her 2003 debut, Everybody Loves You, this New York-based musician has taken a new path with Red, ditching her acoustic for an electric, adding a lap steel and perhaps the most unexpected instrument of all: her own voice. In addition, the formerly solo musician recently enlisted a band to join her live performances, drummer Matt Hankle (who also performs with Blue Man Group) and local keyboardist Dave Archer.

Kaki will also be touring under the umbrella of the fourth annual Yellow Umbrella Tour, a concert series created by cervical cancer survivor and musician Christine Baze. Baze will support King on all dates, performing as well as educating the audience about cervical cancer’s causes and prevention. A portion of proceeds from the tour will go to Popsmear.org, a non-profit organization created by the Boston-based Base to raise awareness about cervical cancer, a disease that strikes 10,370 women each year in the U.S., second only to breast cancer.

Kaki King’s fall tour dates with the Yellow Umbrella Tour are as follows:

Sept. 7: New York, NY @ The Knitting Factory
Sept. 8: Philadelphia, PA@ North by Northwest
Sept. 9: Charlottesville, VA @ Starr Hill Music Hall
Sept. 10: Falls Church, VA @ The State Theatre
Sept. 12: Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
Sept. 13: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Sept. 14: Birmingham, AL @ Zydeco
Sept. 15: New Orleans, LA @ Republic
Sept. 16: Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea’s
Sept. 17: Houston, TX @ Meridian Red Room
Sept. 19: Dallas, TX @ Gypsy Tea Room
Sept. 21: Austin, TX @ Stubb’s
Sept. 25: Los Angeles, CA @ The Knitting Factory
Sept. 26: Santa Cruz, CA @ The Attic
Sept. 27: San Francisco @ The Independent
Oct. 1: Seattle, WA @ The Triple Door
Oct. 2: Vancouver, BC @The Yale
Oct. 4: Missoula, MT @ The Other Side
Oct. 6: Boulder, CO @ Triology Lounge
Oct. 7: Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
Oct. 9: Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
Oct. 10: Ames, IA @ Iowa State University
Oct. 11: Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
Oct. 12: Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
Oct. 13: Champaign, IL @ The Hi Dive
Oct. 14: Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s
Oct. 15: Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark
Oct. 17: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Oct. 19: Toronto, ON Canada @El Mocambo
Oct. 20: Montreal, QC @Main Hall
Oct. 21: Burlington, VT @Higher Ground
Oct. 22: Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall
Oct. 23: Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club

Cameron Strang, president of New West Records, announced the signing of Grammy award-winning artist Steve Earle. Earle plans to enter the studio this fall and his label debut will be released in the first half of 2007. New West is also sponsoring “The Steve Earle Show” on Air America.

“Signing Steve Earle is an honor. Steve is an artist in the truest sense of the word and is one of the finest songwriters America has ever produced. He is a passionate performer, writer and an activist who stands up for what he believes in. Everyone here at New West is thrilled to have the privilege to work with him and we look forward to great success,” says Strang on the signing.

This will mark Earle’s first album of all-new material since 2004’s Grammy winning The Revolution Starts…Now and the longest he’s gone between records in over a decade. Never one to remain idle, Earle’s been busy with various other projects including producing a record for his wife (Allison Moorer), hosting a radio show on Air America, touring, and writing his first novel. In addition, his play, Karla, made it’s New York debut.

Twenty years ago, Earle broke into the music scene with a #1 country record, Guitar Town, and he has sold over 10 million albums worldwide. His broad collection of work includes such critically acclaimed albums as Copperhead Road, Train a Comin’, I Feel Alright, El Corazon, The Mountain and Transcendental Blues. His most recent work Jerusalem and The Revolution Starts…Now represents his outspoken political side.

He is co-managed by Danny Goldberg at Gold Village Entertainment and Burt Stein at Gold Mountain and is booked by Frank Riley at High Road Touring.

“When we were releasing Steve’s records on Artemis I always admired the way that New West handled their artists and felt they were kindred spirits. Being able to work with Red again and to engage the extraordinary New West team will make this is an exciting new chapter in Steve’s career,” says Danny Goldberg.

New West Records LLC is a nine year old, wholly independent record label distributed in the United States by RED Distribution. In the past 12 months, the label has had 6 releases debut in the Top 200. With 109 releases to date, the roster includes Dwight Yoakam, Delbert McClinton, John Hiatt, Kris Kristofferson, The Flatlanders, Tim Easton, Vic Chesnutt, Drive-By Truckers, Randall Bramblett, Stephen Bruton, the Old 97’s, Ben Lee, Buddy & Julie Miller and Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion. With offices in Los Angeles and Austin TX, the company is staffed by a unique blend of music and business specialists. New West Records also exclusively represents PBS television program Austin City Limits.

Fisherman, farmers and chefs, foresters, stilters, marching bands, economists and Everyone Orchestra will converge in the living room of Portland

Singer/songwriter Joseph Arthur will kick off a fall North American tour Sept. 25 in Philadelphia. The outing comes in support of his new album, “Nuclear Daydream,” due Sept. 19 via his new Lonely Astronaut imprint.

Arthur will also make several TV appearances in the coming weeks, beginning Sunday (Aug. 13) on A&E’s “Breakfast With the Arts,” where he will perform two new songs and sit for an interview with KCRW’s Nic Harcourt. He will also appear Oct. 10 on CBS’ “The Late Show With David Letterman” and Oct. 17 on “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson.”

The artist has recently been decamped in Los Angeles while working on another new album, which is expected to be released next year. The sessions have featured contributions from multi-instrumentalist Mathias Schneeberger and Twilight Singers leader Greg Dulli.

Before the headlining dates, Arthur will perform alongside Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and many others at the Osheaga festival, to be held Sept. 2-3 in Montreal. On Oct. 28, Arthur will perform at the Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans, where he previously lived. Fans can download his tribute to the Crescent City, “Last Train to Ithaca,” from his Web site.

Here are Joseph Arthur’s tour dates:

Sept. 2: Montreal (Parc Jean Drapeau; Osheaga Festival)
Sept. 25: Philadelphia (World Cafe Live)
Sept. 26: Hoboken, N.J. (Maxwell’s)
Sept. 27: New York (Bowery Ballroom)
Sept. 28: Boston (Paradise)
Sept. 30: Toronto (Mod Club)
Oct. 2: Detroit (Magic Bag)
Oct. 3: Cincinnati (20th Century)
Oct. 4: Chicago (Double Door)
Oct. 5: Indianapolis (Birdy’s)
Oct. 6: Minneapolis (Fine Line)
Oct. 7: Lawrence, Kan. (Bottleneck)
Oct. 8: Denver (Bluebird)
Oct. 11: Vancouver (Red Room)
Oct. 12: Seattle (Crocodile Cafe)
Oct. 13: Portland, Ore. (Doug Fir)
Oct. 15: San Francisco (Du Nord)
Oct. 17: Los Angeles (El Rey Theatre)
Oct. 19: San Diego (House of Blues)
Oct. 20: Phoenix (Clubhouse)
Oct. 22: Norman, Okla. (Oplolis)
Oct. 23: Dallas (Gypsy Tea Room)
Oct. 24: Houston (Meridien)
Oct. 25: Austin, Texas (Parish)
Oct. 28: New Orleans (Voodoo Music Experience)
Oct. 29: Nashville (3rd & Lyndsey)
Oct. 30: Atlanta (the Loft)
Nov. 1: Annapolis, Md. (Ram’s Head)
Nov. 3: Brooklyn, N.Y. (North Six)

Source billboard.com.