04.24.06 (MusicPortal.com) T BONE BURNETT T Bone has emerged from a self-imposed 14-year hiatus as a recording artist to release two highly-anticipated collections of music simultaneously on May 16th: "The True False Identity," his first album of new original songs since 1992, and "20/20: The Essential T Bone Burnett," a 40-song retrospective spanning Burnett's entire career of music-making. Burnett says of his extended break: "After the last record (1992's "The Criminal Under My Own Hat"), I felt I could write some new songs and go around the track again, but I didn't feel that I would get anywhere. The road had become too difficult. Music had come completely apart for me. But more importantly, I didn't have anything I wanted to say. It all seemed pointless, so I decided to explore some of the other ideas that were coming my way. I needed freedom. I needed time to find another way into playing music again." It is no coincidence that T Bone Burnett is releasing both a retrospective and a new album on the same day. In his revelatory liner notes for 20/20, he has written: "This is the way I wanted to close the book on these songs from a dead man, and open the book on the new life I am beginning after forty years of wandering in the desert." An enigmatic sentiment coming from a man whose solo work has always been filled with droll humor, sardonic wordplay and keen cultural observations. But, for T Bone Burnett, the past is prologue and The True False Identity is the fulfillment of an artistic vision that's been forming in the back of his brain for decades. As Burnett explains, the aim of "The True False Identity" is to "erase the nonexistent line between comedy and tragedy. In the theater, you hear laughter and gasps at the same moment. Some people are amused by the same thing other people are appalled by." As he continues: "The tragedy and the comedy is that reality has been devoured by image management. Today, you can say anything you want and you can do anything you want. Then, you can say you didn't say it or didn't do it, and no one will remember or know the difference or believe anything other than what he or she wants to believe." The musical genesis of "The True False Identity" has its roots in the records T Bone Burnett and his musicians immersed themselves in while recording. Burnett acted as DJ for those sessions, spinning records and videos between takes. "We were listening to Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, The Carter Family, and a lot of Haitian music," he says, "so the axis this music turns on is some kind of line drawn from New Orleans through Mississippi and Tennessee to Haiti."
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04.14.06 (MusicPortal.com) 2006 is a major year for JOHNNY MATHIS, with the legendary singer-songwriter celebrating his 50th anniversary as a recording artist. The voice of romance who was one of the last and most popular in a long line of male vocalists who emerged before the rock-dominated 1960s, will be arriving on UK shores this September where he will play three arena dates - his first British dates this century; London Wembley Arena on September 20, Birmingham NEC Arena on September 21, and Manchester's MEN Arena on September 23. Mathis, best known for his romantic readings of jazz and pop melodies, will be performing an array of his classics culled from his 50 year career. From his Grammy nominated "Misty" through to "I'm Stone In Love With You" and "Gone, Gone, Gone," Mathis has a repertoire second to none. Over the course of his career, Mathis has sold over 180 million albums, and today is still ranked as one of the world's most successful recording artists, alongside the likes of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Currently, Mathis is riding high in the UK album charts with his "Very Best Of" album. His first UK dates for over twelve years, it takes a classic to sing a classic and Johnny Mathis simply sets the standard for traditional pop vocalists. Five decades on from his first recording in New York City for Columbia Records, Mathis has one of the most enduring careers in popular music, having been present in the singles and albums charts in every decade from the '50s through to the present day. In June of 1972, he was awarded his own star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. Johnny Mathis has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame two times so far. In 1998, he made the famous Hall's list with "Chances Are" (Columbia Traditional Pop Single 1957). In 2002 he made the list again with "Misty" (Columbia Traditional Pop single 1959). Most impressive of all is his 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.Ê2004 was a very busy year for Johnny Mathis. He sang "Over The Rainbow" with Ray Charles on his "Genius Loves Company" album (Mathis was also very honored that Ray Charles requested the song be played at his memorial service). Also in 2004, Mathis recorded "Isn't It Romantic" a standards CD that was released in February of 2005.

[Jazz News: February 2006]
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