Tuesday 15th October, 2024
Van Morrison announces the September 27 New Arrangements And Duets. The album is launched alongside its first single, ‘Choppin’ Wood’.
New Arrangements And Duets, represents a small percentage of the huge amount of unreleased material Van Morrison is hoping to roll out in the near future, rather than letting it gather dust in some archive.
Paul Moran and Chris White individually picked the songs they wanted to do big band arrangements for. The duets, recorded across 2018 and 2019, highlight an array of leading vocalists in the shape of Kurt Elling, Curtis Stigers, Joss Stone and Willie Nelson. The Willie Nelson duets – ‘What’s Wrong With This Picture’ and ‘Steal My Heart Away’ – also showcase the guitar talents of Lukas Nelson of Promise Of The Real.
‘Choppin’ Wood’ provides a taste of what to expect, with Van Morrison’s inimitable vocal genius leading a rousing big band performance. It’s also a song that pays tribute to his late father, with its references to Belfast, the Harland & Wolff shipyard and his father’s admiration for jazz greats such as Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton. The original version of the song featured on Van Morrison’s 2002 album Down The Road.
New Arrangements And Duets is available to order. It will be released on black double-vinyl, orange double-vinyl, CD and digital formats.
After recently playing a sold-out show at the Royal Albert Hall, which received a four-star review from The Independent, Van Morrison’s upcoming shows are listed in the LIVE section of the website.
New Arrangements And Duets track list: