Charlie Musselwhite, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Jimbo Mathus, the Late Jim Dickinson, Luther Dickinson/Cody Dickinson = New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers

Stony Plain Records announces a September 4 release date for the first volume of music from roots “super group,” New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers: Charlie Musselwhite, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Jimbo Mathus, the late Jim Dickinson, and North Mississippi Allstars members Luther Dickinson and Cody Dickinson. Recorded at the Zebra Ranch Recording Studio in Coldwater, Mississippi, the 10 blues-drenched tracks of sublime roots music on New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers Volume 1 will be followed in the spring of 2021 by Volume 2. Pre-order the album here:  https://stonyplainrecords.com/lp/newmoonjellyrollfreedomrockersvol1/

The New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers originated back in November, 2007, when musician brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson sat down for a guitar jam with ex-Squirrel Nut Zippers leader Jimbo Mathus, along with blues greats Charlie Musselwhite, Alvin Youngblood Hart and the late Memphis pianist, producer and all around musical stylist Jim Dickinson, gathered for a roots music extravaganza recording under the group name of the New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers.

For more than 12 years, that recording’s existence was mentioned only obscurely in interviews, and referenced as a great old-school recording by those few witnesses. It was done “old school” style live off-the- floor over several days, where the musicians all sat in one big circle in the studio and played quietly amongst the microphones, taking turns singing out in the room and improvising on the spot. Since Jim Dickinson’s passing in the summer of 2009, the album just hung out in the archives, waiting. When Stony Plain founder Holger Petersen heard about the sessions this year and expressed his enthusiasm to release it, Luther Dickinson and his partner/engineer Kevin Houston finished the production of the album It is a testament to the great experience and talent of these esteemed performers that they could casually conjure a recording of this quality out of the ether this way, sounding as if the listener is right there in the room with them, with between-song banter and commentary, the classic structures of the blues, being pulled together and teased apart by some of the most award-decorated members of the blues elite. This album crosses the generations of new blues-rockers and classic blues statesmen.

“The New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers album was conceived in the back of a tour bus,” Luther Dickinson recalls. “Mavis Staples and Charlie Musselwhite had hit the road together, with the North Mississippi Allstars as the house band. The tour forged lifelong friendships and collaborations; it changed our lives in so many ways.

“The package tour was classic showbiz. We’d all been snookered; the tour bus wasn’t what we’d imagined. Instead of rock ‘n’ roll luxury, we found ourselves in hard-cushioned, straight-back retirement home mass transport. The stationary armrests made sleeping futile—so Charlie and I passed the miles shooting the breeze. Charlie made a list of great recordings I should check out, which became a catalyst for our recording session.

“The name of our recording project was born in the back of that ramshackle bus. We had a concept before we had a record. As I explained Alvin Youngblood Hart’s mission to live life as a ‘Freedom Rocker,’ Charlie pointed out the window: there was a new moon that evening. Suddenly, ‘New Moon Freedom Rockers’ materialized. (Dad added ‘Jellyroll’ after the recording session.).

“The Dickinson crew doesn’t enjoy parties, but we dig recording sessions and we love hustling up new recording projects. The New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers project was one of our ‘potluck’ recording session albums. For potlucks, we invite a cast of characters to the session/party, and ask each player to bring a couple of songs. Musicians take turns leading and accompanying, and before you know it, a record materializes. Dad said misery sticks to the tape. With that in mind, we always strive to have fun in the studio. Making collaborative records with new and old friends is a blast. The NMJRFR session was a love fest. We enjoy music as an artifact of friendship, a by-product of the hang.

“The cast of characters for Charlie Musselwhite’s Mississippi Hill Country homecoming recording session was perfect. We spent the first day recording the live set Charlie had taught the NMA. Then Alvin Youngblood Hart, Jimbo Mathus, and Dad joined the party—each took turns leading us through their pot-luck recording party recipes. The table was set, the feast began, and the session became a festival. The homemade, self-produced recording changed our lives.”

Each of the players in the band has impressive individual resumes, but together they add up to a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

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