A new album by enigmatic singer/songwriter Tom Waits is on the Anti Records release schedule. No details are available about the set, which is tentatively slated for a March 2004 release.
If it comes to fruition, the set will be Waits’ first proper studio album since 1999’s acclaimed “Mule Variations.” It debuted at No. 30 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 388,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album won Grammys for best folk and alternative music albums.
Last year, Waits released a pair of albums — “Blood Money” and “Alice” — consisting of music written for plays conceived by Waits, his wife/collaborator Kathleen Brennan and Robert Wilson. The albums debuted at No. 32 and No. 33 on The Billboard 200 and have sold 143,000 and 140,000 copies, respectively.
As previously reported, Waits is among the artists appearing on the forthcoming Blind Boys Of Alabama album, “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” due Sept. 16 via Real World Records.
— Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
Geraldine Fibbers frontwoman Carla Bozulich has recorded her own version of Willie Nelson’s classic 1975 album “Red Headed Stranger” and will release the set Sept. 9 on DiCristina Stairbuilders. Nelson himself contributes vocals and guitar work to “Time of the Preacher,” Can I Sleep in Your Arms” and “Hands on the Wheel.”Bozulich is backed on the set by guitarist Nels Cline, drummer Scott Amendola and bassist Devon Hoff. These artists have also toured together to perform “Red Headed Stranger,” and were joined at some shows by violinist Jenny Scheinman (Norah Jones, Bill Frisell).
Bozulich will be on tour with Wilco starting Sept. 4 in Eugene, Ore. The artist is working on a Halloween-themed album due for release in 2004, as well as a new solo album.
— Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
Michael Brecker, Cyrus Chestnut, David Sanchez, Bill Frisell, Ravi Coltrane and David Holland are among the artists who will perform during the 2003 Santa Fe Jazz and International Music Festival. The fourth annual event will take place Oct. 3-19 at the newly restored Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, Calif. Twenty concerts will be held across the three weeks, plus five additional youth concerts. Visit the festival’s Web site for show details. Tickets are on sale through the venue’s Web site and 505-988-1234.
— Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.