Mill Valley, CA (Top40 Charts/ Mark Pucci Media) Boogie Woogie piano master Mitch Woods announces an October 30 release date for his new CD/DVD set, Blues Beyond Borders: Live in Istanbul, on Club 88 Records, distributed by VizzTone. The new CD/DVD was recorded in the fall of 2010 at the Efes Blues Festival in the Republic of Turkey, as part of a tour where Mitch and his band played 26 shows in 20 cities over five weeks in that country.
Mitch Woods will celebrate the release of Blues Beyond Borders: Live in Istanbul with extensive touring, including the world premiere of the CD/DVD as part of the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 7 at the Sweetwater
Music Hall in his hometown of Mill Valley.
The two-disc specially-priced set includes both a CD and DVD of the performances, with the video including insightful extras of the band's adventures on the road, a travelogue of Turkey, impressions of the Turkish culture and the group's experiences as "blues ambassadors" around the world. Joining Mitch Woods (piano, vocals) are His Rocket 88s: New Orleans all-stars Amadee Castenell (sax/background vocals) and Cornell Williams (bass,/vocals), as well as Adam Gabriel (guitar/background vocals) and Larry Vann (drums).
The album features a number of fan favorites that display Mitch's amazing versatility on the piano, covering jump blues, rock 'n' roll, rhythm and blues and his personal favorite salute to the sounds of New Orleans music in all its flavors. Included are such cover staples as "Down Boy Down," "I Got a New Car," "What Can I Do," "Crawfishin'," "Third Degree," "Rocket 88" and "House of Blues Lights;" plus a slew of Mitch's original fan-favorites such as "Solid Gold Cadillac," "Mojo Mambo," "Boogie Woogie Bar-B-Q," "Queen Bee" and "Long Lean & Lanky." A special highlight of the show is "In the Night/Lambaya Puf De," in which Mitch and the band combine New Orleans R&B with a classic Turkish song, which generates a wildly ecstatic response from the hometown crowd grooving to every second of the ten-minute-plus extravaganza.
"I was deeply impressed with the warmth and hospitality of the people and their openness and enthusiasm for the American musical form we call 'the blues," says Mitch Woods in the album's liner notes. "It made me realize that we are musical ambassadors, able to cross cultural, religious and national borders that most people cannot. This CD and DVD documents our tour of the Republic of Turkey, a secular nation with 99% Muslim population that straddles the border of east and west, geographically and culturally. On this journey I realized in my heart and soul that music truly crosses all boundaries and blues is certainly beyond borders. I am happy to share it with you. So let's hop on the bus, and as they say in Turkey-"Bastan basa blues"- "The blues is everywhere!"
Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88s have been the torchbearers of a great American blues heritage for over three decades. Taking their inspiration from the great jump and boogies outfits of the late '40s and early '50s, they breathe fresh life into the music that gave birth to rock and roll. Woods styled his combo after the jumpin' and jivin' bands of greats such as Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, Joe and Jimmy Liggins, Amos
Milburn and Roy Milton.
For more information, visit https://www.mitchwoods.com.
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