Hit Country Music Cafe

I recently wrote about a new album, Two Men With The Blues by American country music legend Willie Nelson and Pulitzer Prize winning jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.

This album is a recording from the historic live collaboration between these two American icons on the twin-nights of January 12 and 13, 2007, at The Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Here is a great behind-the-scenes look at the new release, Two Men With The Blues, from Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis.

On the twin-nights of January 12 and 13, 2007, a historic event took place at the Jazz at Lincoln Center: American country music legend Willie Nelson and Pulitzer Prize winning jazz trumpeter Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis — two of the most significant figures in modern-day country and jazz music — shared their mutual love for jazz standards and the blues with the world.

The event was simply billed as “Willie Nelson Sings the Blues,” but even from watching the video (hey, I live in Accra in Ghana!), I’m quite certain it was far more than that.

The old man’s extraordinary strength continues to baffle me. At a time when most people are thinking of retirement, Willie Nelson has never been busier. His profile has been high in recent weeks with his various career retrospective releases and sold out tour and this album can rightly stake it’s place alongside anything else he has done.

Luckily, the tapes were rolling and the results of this unique collaboration now constitute the new Blue Note Records’ album Two Men With The Blues for the rest of the world who couldn’t cram into The Allen Room to watch Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis live.

Featuring great playing from one of the hottest bands around, these 10 classic tracks on this new album, “Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis” — are given new life by the extraordinary dual talents of Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis. From the old man, Willie Nelson, himself:

“These songs, heard this way with this group– that’s never been done before. Whatever I’m doing, if you put Wynton and these guys around it, that brings it up to a different level.”

Here are the ten songs on the new album, Two Men With The Blues:

1. Bright Lights, Big City
2. Night Life
3. Caldonia
4. Stardust
5. Basin Street Blues
6. Georgia on My Mind
7. Rainy Day Blues
8. My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It
9. Ain’t Nobody’s Business
10. That’s All

You can buy digital downloads of the complete album or individual tracks from Amazon (in MP3 format) and the Apple iTunes store. And if you want plain ole’ CD, you can buy that also from Amazon or from Borders — the latter which also gets you two additional Borders-exclusive tracks: “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”.

Dan Tyminski, the bluegrass composer, vocalist, instrumentalist and long-time member of the Alison Krauss and Union Station band has gone solo with a new self-named band which recently released a new album entitled Wheels.

Dan Tyminski is probably best known for his updated version of the song “Man of Constant Sorrow,” (video below) which was featured in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? and won the 2001 CMA award for best single as well as a Grammy Award for best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

From his official website:

With Union Station on hiatus for most of 2008, Tyminski has formed a new incarnation of the Dan Tyminski Band, with whom he is currently recording a new album and preparing a national tour of festivals, arts centers, and listening rooms. This new edition includes longtime Union Station associate Barry Bales (bass), former Union Station and Mountain Heart member Adam Steffey (mandolin), sideman extraordinaire Ron Stewart (banjo, fiddle), and newcomer Justin Moses (fiddle, dobro).

The much anticipated new album Wheels was issued by Rounder Records on June 17, 2008. With Tyminski at the helm of the amazing Dan Tyminski Band, and guest appearances by Ron Block, Cheryl and Sharon White, and Vince Gill, it’s an album that I feel was well worth the wait!

Below is a video of Dan Tyminski performing “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” at the Crossroads Festival in 2007. And here’s the link to the CMT interview.