A lot of details concerning Lizz Wright's upcoming album have been released. The album will be entitled 'Grace', and releasedate is set for September 15, 2017.
There are 2 covers on the album, where Joe also produced the original versions. First there is 'Barley' from Birds of Chicago. And then there is the titletrack by Rose Cousins.
Grace was tracked live on Sunset Blvd in Los
Angeles alongside a standout cast of musicians at United Recording
Studios – the sessions feature her nearly 20-year collaboration with
Atlanta-based pianist and choir director Kenny Banks Sr., special guest guitarist Marc Ribot, bassist David Piltch, guitarists Chris Bruce and Marvin Sewell, drummer Jay Bellerose, and keyboardist Patrick Warren. An expansive collection of 10 songs and an original co-write with Maia Sharp (“All the Way Here”), Grace
is Wright’s testament of devotion to speaking and embodying the
fullness of her humanity through music. Her most clear statement to
date, Grace finds Wright standing center stage in the complex dialogues of coexistence and interdependence between all walks of life.
The vast landscapes portrayed on Grace are brimming with Wright’s singular translations of music by Ray Charles, Allen Toussaint, Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, k.d. lang, Bob Dylan, Frank Perkins and Mitchell Parish, as well as emerging artists Rose Cousins and Birds of Chicago.
From a body of about 70 covers collected primarily by Joe Henry, 10
works were selected that mirror Wright’s rural upbringing and the trail
of stories and songs that have brought her to the world stage. Having a
strong sense of intention to speak of grace from the inception of the
project, Wright forwent writing the title track after hearing “Grace” by
Rose Cousins – the first title track Wright didn’t compose from her
catalogue of six studio recordings.
Grace opens with “Barley,” a song penned by
Birds of Chicago based on the traditional blues format of word
repetition. With its sweeping march and repeating phrases, “Barley” has
Wright churning an ancestral force of affirmation and encouragement.
Joe Henry’s years of friendship and collaboration with Allen Toussaint brought “Southern Nights” to the pre-studio listening session. Allen’s spirited trail of rural imagery made “Southern Nights” the song that felt like home.
“Lizz Wright and I have been friends for nearly fifteen years; I’ve hungered for the chance to stand in service to her as she sang, so powerful do I find the expression of her humanity. It was and remains an honor to have been Lizz’s scout along the journey of Grace. And in such dark times, we are all as musicians called to answer brutality with wild and inclusive beauty. When Lizz now sings, I am allowed to feel by extension that I am doing something of my part. What a gift that has been to me; what a gift she offers all.” Joe Henry
Cousins is full of praise for Henry, noting in a label bio that “Joe is a
poet, a thoughtful, contemplative writer. That poetry and
thoughtfulness transfers to his approach in production. It’s about the
right life for the song and the right musicians to make that happen.” (source)
There are some production projects Joe did, I wasn't aware of.
Rose Cousins
Canadian singer-songwriter Rose Cousins has recorded her upcoming album with Joe in the producers' seat. To finance it all she organised a crowdfunding campaign.
2 Updates from the campaign :
February 2nd :
I've spent the month of January communicating with my producer Mr.
Joe Henry trying to figure out the best plan for the wheres and whens of
the new record! We have decided that we will record it in
TORONTO starting Feb 28. We are carefully selecting musical characters
from both LA and Toronto and I'm still working on a few tunes! ............And I'm excited to play with some of my friends and some incredible friends of Joe's!
March 5th
I head to bed in the wee hours feeling incredibly exhausted and completely satisfied with the deeply moving week of music I've just made with Joe Henry & Team. We recorded 14 songs in 4 days and added flourishes over the last two while listening back. As truly visceral and magical as I dreamed it could be. more later after some sleep .....#kicked
You can pre order the record on her site, and get it before the releasedate, which is announced for the end of the year or beginning 2017.
Here is a song from her album 'We have made a spark'(2012)
Son of the Velvet Rat
Discovery of the year, this band is to me. Never heard of them, So I looked'm up, and wow! I love it. Got to keep following these musicians. Son of the Velvet Rat is the project of Austrian Songwriter Georg Altziebler together with his wife Heike Binder
on organ and accordion. The couple recently relocated to the California
desert, leaving behind an impressive band history with 5 albums to
their credit.
Right now, Son of the Velvet Rat is one of those bands on the brink,
poised to make a big splash with its next album. It’s a production with
Joe Henry, who has worked with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Billy Bragg,
and Elvis Costello. Velvet Rat’s sound is where punk rock, folk tunes, and French
chansons intersect. Georg scrawls song lyrics on any available surface,
including thin cigarette rolling papers; sometimes the lines are shoved
into a pocket and lost, but most of the time they become something.
Heike plays keyboards, accordion, and tambourine, and her voice creates
the pure, vulnerable foundation underneath Georg’s scruffy croon.
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt has released her album 'Dig in Deep'. Joe Henry produced and wrote the song "You've changed my mind". Joe played also Acoustic Guitar on the track.
