in the works June 23, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------- Bates Meyer has been hired by Movement Revolution Productions to license music for the documentary film “Nora” about contemporary African choreographer and performance artist Nora Chipaumire. Shot in Mozambique, the film creates a portrait of the artist and her country, - its landscape and people, as well as its history and politics. Licensed tracks include classical pieces “The Swan” by Camille Saint-Saens and an operatic version of “Ave Maria.” Guitarist Lurrie Bell has just been booked for a series of concerts in Brazil. Bell will bring his traditional Chicago Blues to São José do Rio Preto, Ribeirão Preto and São Paulo August 22-24. Bell will also be a special guest guitarist with the Queen of The Blues, Koko Taylor on the Legendary Blues Cruise Pacific which sails this October 5-12 from San Diego to Baja Mexico. Kenny Wayne's Piano Summit featuring Wayne, Deanna Bogart and Julian Fauth will be presented on the mainstage at Festival International du Blues de Tremblant in Quebec on July 11. A New York Times review of the JVC Jazz Festival (dated June 20, 2008) begins with a muse on Ernie Watts. “Charlie Haden’s Quartet West opened its late set at the new club Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday with Charlie Parker’s ‘Passport’ and got right into it. The saxophonist Ernie Watts began as if he were in the middle of things, with a controlled medium projection, playing fast and smoothly and using language from Parker and Coltrane, devices that coolly showed how much he knew.” Watts will be joining Kurt Elling as special guest on November 5 at the renowned Salzburg Jazz Festival in Austria. Jimmy Witherspoon “Live From The Monterey Jazz Festival 1972” featuring guitar great Robben Ford is scheduled for release in August. The live set on Monterey Jazz Festival Records is being marketed and distributed by Concord Records and will benefit the festival’s educational programs. April 29, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------- Trumpeter Lew Soloff will be the featured soloist with the Harmonie Ensemble for a performance of the classic Miles Davis/Gil Evans work "Sketches of Spain" on May 21 at St. Peters Church in Manhattan. The concert is part of the Midtown Jazz at Midday series. Under the direction of conductor Steven Richman, Soloff and the Harmonie Ensemble will also be moving into the studio later that week to record the piece. Bates Meyer, Inc. has been hired by the famed Sun Studios in Memphis to license the name and image of several artists who recorded under the now classic brand. Bates Meyer will research, negotiate and consummate licenses for product to be sold in the Sun Studios Museum store. Mighty Mo Rodgers just completed the voice-over narration for the documentary film "Flood Street" about one man's struggle to bring sanity to the Lower Ninth Ward. Rodgers also wrote and recorded an original song for the film. Bates Meyer has booked singer/actress Vivian Reed for a rare nightclub appearance at the Lionel Hampton Room in Paris for a run June 17-21. Reed is best known for her performances in the Broadway productions of Bubbling Brown Sugar (for which she received a Drama Desk Award and her first Tony Award nomination) and for The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club for which she received her second Tony Award nomination. Reed has also recorded albums for Epic Records and the United Artists label and has been recently developing her own musical production Three Mo' Divas. Pianist Kenny Wayne will be staging a theatrical performance of his self-created homage to Fats Domino entitled Ain't That A Shame at the Creekside Theatre in Lake Country, BC on September 6. Wayne acknowledges his own style is hugely influenced by the New Orleans piano giant. March 30, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------- Charlie Haden's Quartet West, with founding member Ernie Watts on saxophone is set to tour Canada and Europe this June and July, with stops at several major festivals including; Vancouver Coastal Jazz & Blues Fest, Ottawa Jazz Festival and the International Festival Du Jazz in Montreal. The award-winning group will also appear in New York City at the JVC Jazz Festival on June 19 and at The North Sea Jazz Fesival on July 12. Three Memphis Slim tracks will appear on an upcoming compilation "Classic Piano Blues" for the Smithsonian Folkways label, set for a June 24 street date. The offering will include Memphis Slim's takes of "Key To the Highway," "Wish Me Well" and "Dedication to Pete Johnson," along with music by Champion Jack Dupree, Little Brother Montgomery and others. Kenny Wayne will be performing special "Pianorama" shows this Summer with fellow piano men D. K. Stewart and David Vest. Dates are set for June 20th at the Triple Door in Seattle, July 19th at the Winthrop Blues Festival and August 24th at the Edmonton Blues Festival. "Get A Move On," the successful song co-written by the late Shifty Henry has been tapped for the documentary film "Arctic Hip Hop," the story of how Inuit teens retain their cultural identity in the melting pot of globalization. In the remote hamlet of Cambridge Bay, Nanavut, kids are encouraged to blend their rich ancient traditions with a modern beat. T-Bone Walker's "It's A Mean Old World" is set to appear in the documentary "Where I Stand," a film about legendary newspaper publisher Hank Greenspun and his crusade against racial discrimination, McCarthyism, political corruption and organized crime. Lonnie Johnson was recently featured (March 28) on NPR's "All Things Considered" in conjunction with the newly released tribute CD "Re-Discovering Lonnie Johnson" on Philadelphia-based Range Records. The interview includes audio of Lonnie recalling his life experiences to Moses Asch of Folkway Records from 1967. Lew Soloff just finished up 10 days in Israel earlier this month, with 4 performances around Tel Aviv, in Hemdat Yamin and a workshop at the Rimon School of Jazz in Ramat HaSharon. February 14, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------- Ernie Watts has been working at Big City Recording Studios mixing his latest CD "To The Point," set for a spring release. His CD "Ernie Watts Quartet ALIVE" recorded in Germany will be released by Laika Records (Bremen) in April, distributed in Europe by Rough Trade. Ernie will be joining vocalist Kurt Elling for a 4-night run at Jazz Alley in Seattle, June 5-8, 2008. Lew Soloff will be a featured soloist at the Auburn Invitational Jazz Festival in Auburn, Washington (Seattle-Tacoma area) on March 1, 2008. On February 28, he'll join Steve Tyrell at the Triple Door in Seattle for a charity concert benefiting colon cancer research. "Can't Stop Now," the latest recording by Kenny Wayne hits the street on May 20, 2008 on Electro-Fi Records. The CD has a distinct New Orleans groove, featuring songs by Fats Domino and Johnny Johnson as well as the track "Ragin' Storm," his tribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The recording also features one of the last performances by the late guitar great Jeff Healey. Lurrie Bell's "Blues In The Blood" group will be featured at this year's Bern International Jazz Festival March 25-29. Greece will be the next international stop at the Half Note Jazz Club in Athens, April 11-17. Lurrie is very much in demand in North America as well. Appearances are set for the North Atlantic Blues Festival, the Poconos Blues Festival, Beale Street Music Festival, Cisco Systems Ottawa Blues Festival and the Chicago Blues Festival with more to be announced shortly. December 20, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations to our Award nominees (and winner)! Guitar legend Otis Rush is up for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Blues category for his recording "Live In San Francisco." Lurrie Bell, in the same Chicago blues tradition is up for three Blues Music Awards, presented by the Blues Foundation in Memphis; Best Blues Guitarist, Best Traditional Blues Artist, and Best DVD for the project recorded with his late father harpist Carey Bell "Getting' Up: Live." An Independent Music Award was bestowed earlier this month on Ernie Watts for his recording "Analog Man" in the Best Jazz Album category. Watts' upcoming plans include more dates with Charlie Haden's Quartet West plus a collaboration with Kurt Elling in tribute to Johnny Hartman & John Coltrane with Ethel, the contemporary string quartet. Concerts are planned for 2008 and 2009. Kenny Wayne is nominated for a Maple Blues Award (Canada's National Blues Awards presented by The Toronto Blues Society) in the category of Best Keyboard/Piano Player. November 30, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- Lurrie Bell's new CD "Let's Talk About Love" is off to a good start and is the #1 record on the November Living Blues Radio Charts. Bell starts 2008 off with trips to Chile and Argentina as well as tour dates in Canada and the Midwest. Kenny Wayne will be participating in a special piano summit this January with several dates in the Pacific Northwest anchored by a concert at the Triple Door in Seattle on January 10, 2008. Wayne's latest recording tentatively titled "Can't Stop Now" (the follow-up to his Juno Award winning "Let It Loose") is scheduled for release this April on Electro-Fi Records. "River of Light" written and performed by Ernie Watts was licensed for the documentary short "Juanote." The film, slated to air several times during the month of December on the Independent Film Channel (IFC), explores the story of Monsignor John V. Coffield, a Latino civil rights activist in early California history. Watts was also the recent subject of a 4-hour career retrospective on "Jazz From Studio Four" produced by the NPR flagship station WGBH in Boston. October 22, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- The Lurrie Bell "Let's Talk About Love" CD release party is scheduled for Friday, November 2, 2007 at Buddy Guy's Legends. The Chicago Sun Times, Time Out Chicago and The Daily Herald are all preparing advance stories on the event. Lew Soloff will be headlining the Gene Harris Jazz Festival in Idaho April 4, 2008. Later that month he joins good friend Jon Faddis, and fellow trumpeters Randy Brecker, Terrell Stafford and Tom Harrell for a special performance with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble at the Harris Theater in the windy city, on April 11. Cherry Lane Music Company is developing an instructional DVD to teach the most famous versions of the T-Bone Walker classic "They Call It Stormy Monday." The video will include tips on solos from the song, as previously performed by not only Walker, but also Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. "Blues Masters By The Bar," a printed folio and audio CD with these transcribed solos is already on the market. Ernie Watts will be performing at the London Jazz Festival at Queen Elizabeth Hall this November 17, the final date of a three-week tour with Charlie Haden's Quartet West. Watts will join Indian violinist L. Subramaniam and Billy Cobham for a concert at the Muscat Festival in Oman on February 15, 2008. This annual event is a global gathering celebrating cultural heritage exchange. September 25, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- Lurrie Bell's first studio release in 8 years "Let's Talk About Love," bows in October with a flurry of interest building. Cover articles in Living Blues Magazine and Blues Review magazine are already in the works. The recording follows the recent passing of his longtime companion Susan Greenberg and debuts on the label named after their daughter, Aria (Aria B.G. Records). Karen Leipziger Publicity is handling the media chores and Todd Glazer Promotions is working the disc at radio. Ernie Watts' label Flying Dolphin Records has entered into a distribution deal with Laika Records for Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The first release for those territories will be "Analog Man" set for a November 9, 2007 street date via Rough Trade Distribution. Watts will also be participating in the Steiner Settlement, a class action suit against ABC Television. Seven compositions by the artist were used without authorization. T-Bone Walker graces the cover of the Starbucks Entertainment / XM Satellite Radio compilation "Bluesville," (manufactured and distributed by Concord Records). In addition to the image use, the collection also features the track "I've Been Treated So Wrong," performed by Walker with friend and musical associate Jimmy Witherspoon on vocals. The Memphis Slim track "Steppin' Out" appears on the newly released "Vee Jay Definitive Collection" (Box Set). Compiled and released by Shout Factory, this collection features classics from the early Chicago label including tracks by John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, The Staple Singers, Elmore James and the Jay McShann Orchestra among others. Boogie Woogie piano man Kenny Wayne joins the roster for this year's Rhythm Riot Festival in the U.K. on November 23, 2007. The event features a mix of jump blues and rockabilly on England's southern coast. August 21, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- The perennial T-Bone Walker classic "They Call It Stormy Monday" (performed by the Allman Bros) will be in the pilot episode of the anticipated new CBS series "Cane" starring Jimmy Smits, airing this fall. Bates Meyer, Inc. has been hired by Noisemaker Films to clear and license music for the documentary "Flood Street" directed by award winning graphic designer Greg Samata. Set in the poverty-stricken Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, one man makes a difference by starting a homespun neighborhood boxing ring and teaching at-risk youth sportsmanship, respect and brotherhood. Saxophonist Ernie Watts reunites with old friend Billy Cobham for a recording session this August with concert dates to follow in Australia set for March 2008. Watts is also scheduled to join Charlie Haden's Quartet West this fall for a European swing that will include dates in Switzerland, France, Spain, Austria and England. After finishing up Haden's concerts in London, he will be staying in the U.K. to conduct several workshops for Keilwerth saxophones. Lurrie Bell will be touring Europe this November and December with the Chicago Blues Festival 2007 package featuring Lurrie, guitarist Eddie Taylor Jr. and Southside blues shouter Taildragger. The 6 week tour will play dates in France, Belgium, Spain and Switzerland, culminating with a 2-week residency at the famed Meridien Hotel in Paris just before Christmas. The Shifty Henry song "Hyping Women Blues" sampled by London DJ Mr. Scruff in "Get A Move On" continues to get lots of action in various TV and film projects in England including; "Bed and the Bardsleys," "Children's Ward," "ITV Football," "Accidents Can Happen," "One and Only," "Love Bus," "Really Wild Show," "Masterchef Goes Large" and the "Paul O'Grady Show." July 12, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- Three Memphis Slim titles from the Smithsonian Folkways collection are now available via Amazon's new pilot on-demand program. The reissues include; "At The Village Gate with Pete Seeger and Willie Dixon," "The Real Boogie Woogie" and "The Honky Tonk Sound" - street date for all three was June 19, 2007. Also look for "Memphis Slim Live at Ronnie Scott's" on DVD from Image Entertainment. The Ted Hawkins composition "Happy Days" (aka "How Much I Love You") has been licensed for two episodes of the Canadian documentary "Le Choeur De Gregory." The series follows Gregory Charles, the charismatic musical director of the Vocal College of Laval and the tight-knit bonds of the choral society singers. Comcast customers can learn to play the guitar lines of T-Bone Walker via the new cable channel RehearsalsTV, produced by CenterStaging Music Productions, (parent of Rehearsals.com). Walker's "They Call It Stormy Monday," has been licensed for Video On Demand viewing via the Comcast channel and for QUICKLICKS Instructional DVD distribution. Lurrie Bell will headline Buddy Guy's Legends on Saturday July 28. This looks to be a very special evening at the club with Eric Clapton's Crossroads Benefit concert taking place earlier in the day. Guitar heroes such as Carlos Santana, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, BB King and many more will be in town and it is anticipated that Buddy's club will be the destination for Clapton and entourage, searching for some authentic Chicago blues. In a nod that catalog still retains value for the majors, Atlantic Records has just released the compilation "Atlantic Blues" on the Rhino Handmade label. Under the direction of Billy Vera, the package showcases some of the music that served as early cornerstones for the label which went on to become a powerhouse of American music. Tracks include Jimmy Witherspoon's "Ain't Nobody's Business" and "How Long Blues" plus T-Bone Walker's "Call It Stormy Monday" and "T-Bone's Blues." May 30, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- The famed Monterey Jazz Festival is releasing a series of live concerts on the newly formed Monterey Jazz Festival Record label (via Concord Records) and will include a 1972 set from Jimmy Witherspoon featuring Robben Ford. A Witherspoon track will be on the inaugural sampler compilation due out later this year. In July Range Records will be releasing a Lonnie Johnson tribute "Re-Discovering Lonnie Johnson." The 12-song tribute spearheaded by Grammy Award winning producer Aaron Levenson (Spanish Harlem Orchestra, The Philadelphia Experiment) features performances by a variety of Philadelphia based musicians including Geoff Muldaur and Jef Lee Johnson. Ernie Watts is planning a live recording of his quartet this coming August, capturing 4 nights of music at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles August 22-25. Ernie's quartet will also headline the first annual Smitty's Quarry Jazz Festival on August 3, taking place in the natural surroundings of Opus 40 in Saugerties, New York Lurrie Bell will be performing a selection of shows during this year's Chicago Blues Festival in tribute to his late father Carey Bell with guests including Billy Boy Arnold, Eddy Clearwater, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Billy Branch, Little Arthur Duncan and Matthew Skoller. Kenny Wayne makes his second headline appearance at the North Atlantic Blues Festival on July 14th with a boogie-woogie piano summit featuring Henry Butler and Barrelhouse Chuck. April 23, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- Bates Meyer, Inc. has been hired to clear music for the documentary "Strange Land," a film about a WWII war bride who leaves behind a family and culture in the Philippines in 1946 to start a new life with an American GI she barely knows. T-Bone Walker's song "Hard Way" was licensed for use by the house band on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." Otis Rush will have a marker erected in his honor in his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi as part of the historic Mississippi Blues Trail. Lurrie Bell is now an official endorser for Gibson Guitars. His new axe is a Cherry Red Gibson E-335 built to his specifications by the Gibson custom shop. Lew Soloff will be a featured soloist on July 17 with the Fribourg Jazz Orchestra at the Festival De Jazz International in Fribourg, Switzerland The Kauai Concert Association will include both Lew Soloff (September 29) and Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne (November 17) in their music series at the KCC Performing Arts Center in Lihue. Bates Meyer, Inc. is assisting The Highway 61 Blues Museum in Leland, Mississippi in creating an exhibit which pays tribute to Matt "Guitar" Murphy March 19, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- Lurrie Bell has been set as one of the headliners for the Japan Blues & Soul Carnival in July with performances in Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya. Bell will also be performing at The Portland Waterfront Blues Festival on July 4th and The Chicago Blues Festival on June 8. More festival dates to be announced. Mighty Mo Rodgers' first studio CD in eight years, "Redneck Blues" is due out in France on April 26th on the respected roots label DixieFrog Records. On the recording Rodgers continues his provocative observations about contemporary American society. A concert film clip of Lonnie Johnson performing "Too Late To Cry" from 1963 appears on the next installment (Vol 4) of The American Folk Blues Festival DVD series from Universal, due out this spring. Ernie Watts will be a featured performer at the Matosinhos Jazz Festival in Porto, Portugal on April 20th and will be touring Europe in June and July with Charlie Haden's Quartet West Thomas Conrad of Jazz Times Magazine reviewed the Umbria Jazz Winter Festival this past December. "... there was one American band that was fascinating to follow during the festival, as four exceptional players worked through their concepts of brand new material; The Lew Soloff Quartet, with Joe Locke on vibes, Francois Moutin on bass and Billy Hart on drums ... Most jazz fans know Soloff as a featured soloist in large ensembles, from Blood Sweat & Tears in the late '60s, through Gil Evans and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, to presently, Carla Bley. Orvieto provided a rare chance to hear the Soloff trumpet in unrationed quantities. His flair for the dramatic created one adrenalin rush after another as his signature high notes shattered the air. February 1, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------- Bates Meyer, Inc. has been engaged by the famous Sun Studios in Memphis, TN to clear name and image rights for a new line of merchandise. The first product to be manufactured is a T-shirt incorporating the well-known Sun logo with a vintage photo of Howlin' Wolf who recorded his first sides at the studio. Lew Soloff makes a return to Ronnie Scott's in London, February 19-21 with his quartet which features Joe Locke on vibes, Francois Moutin on bass and Louis Moutin on drums. He headlines the Child Of The Sun Jazz Festival in Lakeland Florida on March 23. The program is a reprise of the Gil Evans Porgy And Bess arrangements and will include the great Jimmy Cobb on drums. Soloff also will appear as guest soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and old friend Chuck Mangione May 25 & 26. T-Bone Walker's perennial standard "They Call It Stormy Monday" was licensed for the new season of American Idol. Ernie Watts is putting the final touches on his latest studio recording ANALOG MAN. Two catalog pieces "The Long Road Home" and "Spirit Song" are set for release through Burnside Distribution Corporation on March 14. Ernie Watts Quartet is scheduled to appear at the Jazz Center in Istanbul, March 21-24. The venue was recently voted the best jazz club in Turkey. Watts made a recent appearance at the January IAJE convention, performing for the event's opening gala. November 1, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------- The first ever Lonnie Johnson biography is being written by University of Minnesota media professor and published author Dr. Dean Alger. Dr. Alger has been working on the book for several years and has travelled extensively in his research. Lawrence Cohn who produced the hugely popular Robert Johnson boxset calls it the greatest biography that has never been written. "The Real Folk Blues Sessions" featuring Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne, Paul Oscher and Lurrie Bell will appear at the Blues at the Bow concert series in Bow Island, Alberta - March 2-3, 2007. Plans are being made to record the weekend performances for a future release. The Lew Soloff Quartet will be celebrating the New Year at the Umbria Jazz Winter Festival in Orvieto, Italy. His quartet features Joe Locke on vibes, Francois Mouton on upright bass and Billy Hart on drums. The group plays December 29 - January 1. Ernie Watts has been invited to perform at the newly reformed JakJazz Festival in Jakarta with performances November 24-26, 2006. Lurrie Bell's "Blues in The Blood" group will be the featured act at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland this November 2006 and will perform several shows thoughout the weeklong event including acoustic and electric performances with dad Carey Bell. Guitarist Bell recorded a concert with his father, harmonica legend Carey Bell at Buddy Guy's Legends (on October 21, 2006) that will be released on DVD and CD in early 2007 by Delmark Records. Ernie Watts' personal label imprint Flying Dolphin Records has entered a distribution deal with Burnside Distribution Corp. and the first titles are available October 10, 2006. The initial releases in the pipeline are his rare XRCD audiophile recordings originally recorded for JVC Music in the 1990s. "Classic Moods" features Mulgrew Miller, George Mraz and Jimmy Cobb and "Unity" features Jack DeJohnette, Geri Allen, Eddie Gomez and Steve Swallow. These high-fidelity compact discs were recorded, mastered and manufactured using proprietary technology, guaranteeing outstanding accuracy in both sound quality and imaging. The original deluxe packaging is also included. SEPTEMBER 1, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------- Ernie Watts' recording "Look In Your Heart" was sampled by singer/songwriter (and funk master) Amp Fiddler for his new release AFRO STRUT, (Wall Of Sound – August 28, 2006). Fiddler's set to tour this fall with India Arie. P-Vine Records in Japan has just released "Otis Rush: The Cobra Singles" a limited edition box set of all of his legendary 1950's Cobra Recordings in 7" vinyl format with original label art. Otis Rush's CD "All Your Love I Miss Loving" recorded live at The Wise Fools Pub in Chicago 1976 was voted the Best Blues Reissue of the Year by Living Blues magazine. The recording came out November 22, 2005 on the venerable Chicago blues label Delmark. Memphis Slim has two new reissues out on Sunnyside Records both released on July 18, 2006, "The Blue Memphis Suite" and "Memphis Heat" (his collaboration with the blues-rock group Canned Heat). These are a follow-up to "Paris Mississippi Blues" a 2-CD retrospective of his French recordings for Barclay in the 1970s released in 2005. All were part of the "Blues In Paris" series compiled by Universal France. JULY 1, 2006 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jimmy Thackery has a new label and a new release with "In The Natural State" out on Rykodisc Records (June 27, 2006). "Natural State" was recorded in his home state of Arkansas with fellow statesmen The Cate Brothers and features liner notes by Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. On June 17, 2006, T-Bone Walker's hometown of Linden, Texas presented the first annual T-Bone Walker Festival this year in his honor with a sold-out event featuring performances by Keb' Mo' and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne's CD "Let It Loose" won a Juno Award, presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences on April 1, 2006 (in an award ceremony in Halifax) for Best Canadian Blues Album of 2005. Kenny is currently in the studio working on his follow-up record due in 2007. The DVD and CD "Otis Rush and Friends: Live at Montreux Jazz Festival 1986" with Eric Clapton and Luther Allison was released March 21, 2006 by Eagle Rock Entertainment (Eagle Records/Experience Hendrix).