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| Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs: The Dukes Of September Rock & roll royalty Donald Fagen (Steely Dan), Michael McDonald (The Doobie Brothers) and Boz Scaggs join forces as their own new super group The Dukes of September, paying tribute to the R&B and Soul music that inspired them along with fresh, exciting performances of some of their greatest hits. The concert, taped at New York's Lincoln Center, will air in March on Great Performances (check local listings). Among the many crowd-pleasing favorites are "What a Fool Believes, " "Lowdown, " "Lido Shuffle, " "Pretzel Logic, " "Reelin' In the Years" and many more. The Dukes of September Rhythm Revue formed in 2010, is a resurrection of their previous New York Rock and Soul Revue. They play a combination of hits from the member's respective careers as well as a number of classic R&B and Soul covers. "The Dukes of September Live" a companion DVD and Blu Ray of the concert, will be released on 429 Records tomorrow, March 18th. "Dukes of September Live" has already hit #1 on Amazon's Music DVD chart based on pre-orders. Donald Fagen, musician and songwriter, was the co-founder (along with Walter Becker) and lead singer of the jazz/rock band Steely Dan. After the breakup of Steely Dan in 1981, he launched a long-running solo career in 1982, with four albums to date. In 1993, Fagen and Becker reunited as Steely Dan. Their first comeback album, "Two Against Nature, " won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2001. Five-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Michael McDonald is renowned for his soulful baritone. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan. He became a member of The Doobie Brothers from 1976 to 1982, a period which resulted in several hit songs for the band, after which he began an illustrious solo career. William Royce "Boz" Scaggs, the singer, songwriter and guitarist, gained fame in the 1970s with the album "Silk Degrees, " which earned him a Grammy for R&B Song of the Year, "Lowdown." He records in various genres, including blues, R&B, pop and jazz. Scaggs continues to write, record music and tour. During the early 1990s, the three front men worked together in the Libby Titus-produced New York Rock and Soul Revue which, during its short life, included Phoebe Snow, Chuck Jackson, Eddie and David Brigati of the Rascals, Charles Brown, Walter Becker, Cornelius Bumpus and Mindy Jostyn. In 2010 it was announced that Fagen, McDonald and Scaggs would do a fall tour together as the Dukes of September Rhythm Revue, the name harkening back to 1950s doo-wop bands with aristocratic names. The current lineup is rounded out by Jon Herington (guitar), Freddie Washington (bass), Shannon Forrest (drums), Jim Beard (organ), Jay Collins (horns), Michael Leonhart (horns), Walt Weiskopf (horns), Carolyn Leonhart (vocals) and Conesha Monet Owens (vocals). This ensemble has been thrilling audiences and wowing critics across the country. The three principals, taking turns on lead vocals, are always on stage as part of the band. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Fagen says that the idea behind the group "...was to play music that we all liked when we were kids — music that made us want to become musicians in the first place." Songs performed include: "People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul" "Who's That Lady?" "Sweet Soul Music" "I Keep Forgettin'" "Kid Charlemagne" "The Same Thing" "Miss Sun" "You Can Never Tell" "What A Fool Believes" "Hey Nineteen" "Love T.K.O." "Peg" "Lowdown" "Takin' It To The Streets" "Reelin' In The Years" "Lido Shuffle" "Pretzel Logic" "Them Changes" Directed for television by David Horn, Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs: The Dukes of September, was produced by Mitch Owgang. John Beug and David Horn are executive producers. For Great Performances, Bill O'Donnell is series producer. David Horn is executive producer. Great Performances is funded by the Irene Diamond Fund, The Starr Foundation, the Agnes Varis Trust and PBS. 429 Records is a unit of The Savoy Label Group (SLG). SLG is the North American based division of Nippon Columbia the oldest music company in Japan. The Savoy Label Group has evolved into a Grammy Award winning and chart topping independent music company consistently outperforming competitors in key music categories as monitored by Billboard Magazine. The Savoy Label Group is led by Steve Vining and is based in Los Angeles, CA. write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Jazz News :: home page |