Tuesday, May 09, 2006

CHRIS BOTTI TEAMS WITH DEAN MARTIN, BRAND NEW HEAVIES JOIN LINEUP OF ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL & NEW MATERIAL FROM RICKIE LEE JONES, & MORE...

Rykodisc in conjunction with Commotion and Sony Pictures Classics have announced the May 9th release of Friends With Money Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The soundtrack features new songs by Rickie Lee Jones and marks her debut writing music for film. Other featured artists include score composer Craig Richey (Lovely & Amazing, Journey Into Night), Neil Halstead, The Weepies and Big Red Button. Says Friends With Money executive producer Tracy McKnight, "Director Nicole Holofcener's film is a wonderful expression on the enduring beauty and importance of friendships in life as they unfold - Rickie Lee Jones captured that essence in her songs - a perfect fit for the film."
Friends With Money marks Jones' first new material since her 2003 release Evening Of My Best Day and features the single Circle In The Sand and the remarkably jangly Hillbilly Song. She says of collaborating with director Nicole Holofcener, "Nicole's directing is intimate and straightforward, and this is a very good match for my music... I could not have had a better film to write for, especially my first time out. Writing for film," she says, "required operating from a different point of reference, you are starting from a picture on the screen rather than your imagination. It was very brave of Nicole to allow me to do this, for her to use music she had not intended to use from the outset. Most directors would have shut down, said 'this is not what I had in mind.' But she took her time, and eventually used musical ideas she had not considered before. It was wonderful for me."

Chris Botti has just finished recording his ‘duet’ of Lerner and Lowe’s I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face with Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin for an upcoming album. The song was originally recorded by Martin in 1957 and in this new version the original instrumentation will be edited and replaced, much like the duets that were re-engineered between Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole. The trumpeter is being featured on a CD that pairs instrumentalists and vocalists with the late singer. The CD is being engineered by Grammy Award winner Al Schmitt and is expected to be released by Capitol Records later this year.

Aaron Neville is in the studio recording his first album for the Burgundy Records (Sony BMG) label. Due in September, the as yet untitled album will be comprised of 15 all-time soul classics, including Otis Redding’s Dock Of The Bay and Sam Cooke’s Bring It On Home To Me. The CD is being produced by Stewart Levine who has worked with a bevy of platinum selling artists, including Jamie Cullum, Simply Red and B.B. King.

Considered to be one of the most remarkable band in Britain – The Guillemots, are grearing up for a U.S. tour and have thus far set the following dates: May 7 at T.T. the Bears in Cambridge, MA; May 8 at World CafĂ© Live in Philadelphia, Pa; May 9 at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City; and May 11 at The Roxy in Los Angeles, CA. Their latest CD is From The Cliffs.

The Brand New Heavies have joined the lineup for the upcoming Coca-Cola presents the 2006 Essence Music Festival, to be held July 1,2 and 3 in Houston, Texas. Other artists scheduled to perform include Frankie Beverly & Maze, Charlie Wilson, Loose Ends, Toni Braxton, and Earth, Wind & Fire.

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