Earl Klugh’s “HandPicked” Debut at #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart
New solo/duo release features special guests Vince Gill, Bill Frisell and Jake Shimabukuro
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.