BBC to Premiere Doc on Keith Richard’s Formative Years, Will Have Him Inaguraly Curate Weekend of Programming
As part of its My Generation celebration of the history British pop music, the BBC announced a documentary on Keith Richards centered on the musician’s formative years growing-up in post-war Britain. The documentary, set to premiere next month, will be accompanied by a weekend of Richards curating two nights of programming for the BBC4 and introducing each piece, something the station has never done before.
Brooklyn Brewery Launches Record Label in UK
In the same country many businesses are beginning to implement exit strategies, one New York city-based brewery is looking to launch a new record label. Renowned craft brewery Brooklyn Brewery has announced a new record label specifically aimed at up-and-coming artists in the UK. The label will launch with previously unsigned two-piece rock act The Graveltones. A representative for Brooklyn Brewery said their aim is to press and deliver the unadulterated sounds these emerging artists have, preserving the organic “loud and raw” tones of live or humble home recording. Brooklyn Brewery Records starts recording next month.
Lost Betty Davis Sessions Recovered; Released as The Columbia Years 1968-1969
For decades jazz and funk enthusiasts have speculated on the existence of a couple of late 60s recording sessions at Columbia’s 52nd Street Studios by Betty Davis and her then-husband Miles Davis. The supposed sessions were thought to have planted the seeds for Davis’s famous album Bitches Brew and therefore cementing Betty Davis as a key influencer of the late trumpeter’s sound. Well, the rumors are true, and with the cooperation of the Funk Queen, the lost sessions have been released on vinyl as The Columbia Years 1968-1969. The sessions, produced by Miles Davis and Teo Macero, feature Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Expereince, among others. The album’s bio notes name the sessions as “the true birth of Miles’s jazz-rock exploration,” and the album, out now, includes an interview with Betty Davis and rare photos along with other collector’s gems.
-Taylor Wallace
