New
Orleans musical giant pays tribute to fellow Crescent City legend Louis
Armstrong with star-studded, divinely-inspired new tribute disc
For
Immediate Release – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and six-time
GRAMMY®-winner Dr. John is New Orleans' most prominent living musical icon. The
embodiment of his hometown's freewheeling creative spirit and multiple musical
traditions, he's built a visionary, idiosyncratic body of work that's deeply
rooted in the Crescent City's myriad blues, R&B, jazz and rock 'n' roll
traditions.
So it's
fitting that Dr. John's August 19, 2014 (international release dates may vary)
debut on Concord Records, Ske-Dat-De-Dat...The Spirit Of Satch, pays heartfelt
tribute to another larger-than-life New Orleans legend: the seminal trumpeter
and vocalist Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, whose musical innovations
created the template for 20th-century jazz, and whose playful attitude and
life-embracing spirit made him a beloved figure whose worldwide appeal
transcended music.
"He's
the most famous guy that ever came out of my neighborhood," notes Dr.
John. "He became a legend all over, for his trumpet playin' and everything
else, and he was the United States' ambassador to the world."
Ske-Dat-De-Dat...The
Spirit Of Satch honors Armstrong's musical genius as well as his effervescent
personality with 13 quintessential numbers drawn from various phases of
Armstrong's five-decade career, with Dr. John joined by a stellar supporting
cast that manages to update the material while maintaining the music's timeless
emotional appeal.
The
subtitle The Spirit Of Satch is particularly appropriate given the album's
birth cycle, which Dr. John says was set into motion when the late
Armstrong—whom he'd only met once during his lifetime, in the office of their
mutual manager Joe Glaser—came to him in a dream.
"Louis'
spirit came to me and told me to do something, that's how this whole thing started,"
says Dr. John, who's previously released tribute albums to musical giants Duke
Ellington and Johnny Mercer. "Louis told me, 'Take my music and do it your
way.' It was the most unexpectable thing
in the world to me, to have Louis' spirit show up like that, but he gave me a
concept of where to roll with it that was spiritually correct. That made me
feel very open to try some different things, because I felt was that his spirit
had ok'd this record."
Prior to
making the album, Dr. John honored Satchmo on stage, presenting rapturously
received tribute concerts, dubbed "Props to Pops," at New York's
Brooklyn Academy of Music in March 2012 and at the Hollywood Bowl in July 2013.
In
addition to Dr. John's trademark vocals and piano, and backup from some of New
Orleans' finest musicians, Ske-Dat-De-Dat…The Spirit Of Satch features a
stellar assortment of guest singers and players. Bonnie Raitt shares the
spotlight on a swinging reading of "I've Got the World on a String,"
Ledisi and the McCrary Sisters lend gospel authority to "Nobody Knows the
Trouble I've Seen," Anthony Hamilton is featured on a mournful
"Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," Shemekia Copeland trades
verses with Dr. John on a playful reworking on "Sweet Hunk O' Trash,"
and the Blind Boys of Alabama lend their powerful voices to "What a
Wonderful World" and "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams."
Since
Ske-Dat-De-Dat…The Spirit Of Satch is a tribute to the man who popularized the
trumpet for a worldwide audience, it's fitting that the project should feature
some of today's greatest trumpeters, namely Nicholas Payton (on "What a
Wonderful World" and "Gut Bucket Blues"), Terence Blanchard
("Mack the Knife," "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams"), Arturo
Sandoval ("Tight Like This," "Memories of You"), Wendell
Brunious ("Thats My Home") and James Andrews ("Dippermouth
Blues"), along with New Orleans' legendary horn ensemble the Dirty Dozen
Brass Band ("When You're Smiling").
"The
whole thing felt pretty special, and I desitively was in a different zone for
this record," says Dr. John, who co-produced the album with his longtime
trombonist Sarah Morrow, who also arranged the album. "I wanted to pull
together some of his hits and some of the songs he wasn't as well known for,
and make them feel fresh and different. Sarah wrote some slammin' charts that
kept everything spacious and hip. And everybody played and sang great, and gave
it their own spirit."
Ske-Dat-De-Dat…The
Spirit Of Satch is the latest achievement in a singular musical history that
stretches back to the 1950s, when Dr. John—then still known by his given name,
Mac Rebennack—emerged as an in-demand producer, guitarist, pianist and
songwriter on New Orleans' studio scene, working for such local labels as Ace,
Ron and Ric, collaborating with the likes of James Booker, Earl King, Professor
Longhair, Art Neville and Frankie Ford, and scoring the regional solo hit
"Storm Warning."
In the
early '60s, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he played on countless sessions
before debuting his flamboyant new musical persona, "Dr. John, The Night
Tripper," with his first solo album, 1968's Gris-Gris, which introduced
the world to his uniquely eclectic voodoo-funk. In the years since, he has
remained a distinctly prolific and powerful force, releasing more than 30
albums of his own while collaborating with a broad array of acts including the
Rolling Stones, Sonny and Cher, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, Gregg Allman,
Mike Bloomfield, Levon Helm, Ringo Starr, Rickie Lee Jones, B.B. King and
Christina Aguilera. He also performed in such films as The Last Waltz and Blues
Brothers 2000, and pursued a successful two-decade songwriting partnership with
legendary tunesmith Doc Pomus.
Dr. John
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, and won the most recent
of his six GRAMMY® Awards in 2013 when Locked Down was voted that year's Best
Blues Album.
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