News

Jools Holland And His Rhythm And Blues Orchestra Announce New Album

• 14th Oct 2010

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra will be getting back in the saddle to release a brand new album, Rockinghorse, on 15 November. Released by Rhino UK, Rockinghorse will mark their first new studio album since 2008’s The Informer, and is a 19 track collection of classic Jools Holland compositions, interpretations and covers, with very special guest collaborators including musical icons Alison Moyet, Michael McDonald, Chas & Dave, David Sanborn, Booker T. and Allen Toussaint.

Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra have become the most successful big band from Britain since their original incarnation in 1987. A worldwide tour earlier this year including dates in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Europe as well as the UK saw this unique group hone their truly magnificent performance skills – whilst managing to make this new record in between shows. Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra will continue to take their party out on the road in the UK throughout October, November and December.

Rockinghorse showcases an array of wonderful vocal talents all set to Jools’ inimitable piano licks and the acclaimed instrumentation of his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. The superb and powerful voice of Ruby Turner on ‘Roll Out Of This Hole’, the soulful tones of Louise Marshall on ‘Father Time’, the big band-led blues of ‘I’ve Got News For You’ featuring Grammy-award winner Michael McDonald, the extraordinary Hammond organ / piano duet with Booker T on Duke Ellington’s ‘Blues For New Orleans’, a homage to the Big Smoke with ‘Rockney’ duo Chas & Dave for ‘London Belongs To Me’ (written by Jools and Chris Difford) and the sultry vocals of Alison Moyet on ‘The Man That Got Away’. Jazz legend David Sanborn joins Jools and the Orchestra for the soul classic ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’, ska and reggae originator Rico Rodriguez performs on ‘What A Wonderful World’ and Jools reunites with Sam Brown for the lyrically shocking original 1927 Bessie Smith version of ‘’Tain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do’. All this plus blues and big band standards ‘Got My Mojo Working’ (with Rosie Mae) and ‘A String Of Pearls’: this album is a must for fans of Jools Holland’s extraordinary repertoire and the uplifting sound of his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.

“Nowhere else in the world would you get this array of artists all on one record,” says Jools Holland. “I feel very lucky to have been working with the world’s greatest blues, jazz and soul singers and musicians on this new album – Booker T., Michael McDonald, David Sanborn, Allen Toussaint, Chas & Dave, and of course Alison Moyet who I am taking out on tour, plus the regular members of my Rhythm and Blues Orchestra – Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall and the wonderful Rico Rodriguez. We’ve got songs on here that are 90 years old, and some that have only been written within the last few months, and I’m just so proud to keep the ‘big band’ sound going so many decades on from when it first began. I am privileged to have such an extraordinary band of musicians ranging in age from their 20s through to their 70s, playing together to create our unique sound.’

Tracklisting:

1. WHIRLAWAY(Instrumental) featuring piano duet with Allen Toussaint
2. ROLL OUT OF THIS HOLE with Ruby Turner
3. FATHER TIME with Louise Marshall
4. GOT MY MOJO WORKING with Rosie Mae
5. I’VE GOT NEWS FOR YOU with Michael McDonald
6. ENCHANTED CASTLE with Louise Marshall
7. LONDON BELONGS TO ME with Chas & Dave
8. A STRING OF PEARLS (Instrumental)
9. ROCKINGHORSE
10. REMEMBER ME with Ruby Turner
11. ROCK-A-BYE THE BOOGIE
12. THIS TRAIN with Ruby Turner
13. BLUES FOR NEW ORLEANS(Instrumental) featuring Booker T. on organ
14. ‘TAIN’T NOBODY’S BIZNESS IF I DO with Sam Brown
15. MERCY, MERCY, MERCY (Instrumental) featuring David Sanborn on saxophone
16. THE WICKED AND THE WEAK
17. THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY with Alison Moyet
18. WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD with Rico Rodriguez
19. YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL with Ruby Turner

Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra will take to the road throughout Winter with very special guest Alison Moyet, visiting 28 cities, with two nights at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall.

Tour dates:

OCTOBER 2010
Thu 21st Castlebar, Royal Theatre
Fri 22nd Belfast, Waterfront Hall
Sat 23rd Belfast, Waterfront Hall
Sun 24th Dublin, Olympia Theatre
Fri 29th Norwich, UEA
Sat 30th Ipswich, Regent
Sun 31st Cambridge, Corn Exchange
NOVEMBER 2010
Wed 3rd Reading, Hexagon
Thu 4th Reading, Hexagon
Fri 5th Southend, Cliffs Pavillion
Sat 6th Southend, Cliffs Pavillion
Thu 11th Stoke On Trent, Victoria Hall
Fri 12th Oxford, New Theatre
Sat 13th Bristol, Colston Hall
Thu 18th Aberdeen, AECC, Press and Journal Arena
Fri 19th Glasgow, SECC
Sat 20th Glasgow, SECC
Sun 21st Harrogate, International Centre
Wed 24th Nottingham, Royal Centre
Thu 25th Leicester, De Montfort
Fri 26th London, Royal Albert Hall
Sat 27th London, Royal Albert Hall

DECEMBER 2010
Wed 1st Bradford, St. Georges Hall
Thu 2nd Sheffield, City Hall
Fri 3rd Newcastle, City Hall
Sat 4th Newcastle, City Hall
Thu 9th Portsmouth, Guildhall
Fri 10th Plymouth Pavilions
Sat 11th Brighton Centre
Fri 17th Cardiff, International Arena
Sat 18th Birmingham, NIA
Sun 19th Bournemouth, IC
Tue 21st Manchester, Apollo
Wed 22nd Cheltenham, Centaur

All tickets are priced £32.50 except for the Royal Albert Hall, which are priced £16.00 to £51.50 and dates in Ireland.