Earl Klugh’s “HandPicked” Debut at #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart

On July 30, Earl Klugh released HandPicked, a soulful, sixteen-track solo/duet recording featuring special guest guitarists Vince Gill and Bill Frisell and ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro. “In the earlier part of my career, I was busy touring and playing with a six and seven-piece band,” Klugh says. “But I think it’s important from time to time to step back and reexamine some things. So I thought it was the ideal time because I ran into several of my guitar friends over the last couple of years. And it got me to thinking – maybe I can include some duets in my next project.”

Here are upcoming Earl Klugh tour dates:

8/10/2013                            Strings Music Festival (w/Nnenna Freelon)          Steamboat Springs          CO

9/6/2013                              Schwartz Center                                                               Wilmington                         DE

9/12 – 9/15/2013              Jazz Alley                                                                             Seattle                                  WA

9/21                                       President Hotel Auditorium                                        Lilongwe                              MALAWI

9/24                                       Centro Cultural Universitario                                      Maputo                                MOZAMBIQUE

10/3/2013                            Yoshi’s                                                                                  San Francisco                     CA

10/4 – 10/5/2013              Yoshi’s                                                                                  Oakland                               CA

10/6/2013                            Catalina JazzTrax Festival                                              Catalina Island                   CA

10/12 – 10/19/2013         Smooth Jazz Cruise                                                         San Diego                            CA

11/7 – 11/9/2013              Earl Klugh’s Weekend of Jazz                                      Kiawah Island                    SC

In other news, leading satellite radio channel SiriusXM is forming the SiriusXM Watercolors Jazz Hall of Fame to honor the legacies of its pioneering artists. Contemporary jazz icons Klugh, David Sanborn and the late Grover Washington Jr. constitute the inaugural class that will be inducted into the music hall during a ceremony held aboard The Smooth Jazz Cruise October 18. Klugh and Sanborn will also perform during the induction ceremony that will air on SiriusXM’s Watercolors.

On July 30, Jake Shimabukuro joined Klugh for a take on The Eagles’ “Hotel California” at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.