Back in 2011, Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band, Royal Southern Brotherhood) and his good friend and collaborator Geoff Hartwell recorded an album in Jonesboro, Georgia, along with a couple of friends. The session came at a perfect time, as Yonrico, Kofi & Oteil Burbridge and Todd Smallie (Derek Trucks Band, JJ Grey) were all in the same place for about one week. This was just one year into the formation of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Yonrico and Kofi and Todd had not played with each other in the studio since the dissolution of the DTB. Everyone was feeling their way around their new roles in the Derek Trucks universe and elsewhere, and for everyone to be able to get together and play without an audience certainly brought a sense of relief for everyone involved.
These titans of musicians, all going through major changes in their lives, locking in as right and tight as ever and hittin’ the note even harder to show the world (and each other) that family comes first. The sound is eclectic, ranging from country twang (featuring a solo by a young piano player named Chuck Leavall), but also delves heavily into some spacy instrumentals and moments of unbridled gospel-jazz joy the way the Burbridge brothers can only think up. It is hardly overdubbed at all on most tracks, preserving the energy of an important cluster of space-time in it’s groove.
Live for Live Music is proud to premier the first releases from these sessions, an instrumental called “Wandra,” as well as a five minute long teaser track of the album. The premier is the exciting beginning of this project’s revival, as The Geoff Hartwell and Yonrico Scott Project will come together for two confirmed shows in early November, where they will be performing material from this unreleased album for the first time in a live setting.
Nov 5th. Garcias, Portchester, NY
Nov 8th B Side Ballroom, Oneonta NY
Check out “Wandra” and the teaser track below:
Personnel:
Kofi Burbridge – Keys/Hammond B3
Oteil Burbridge – Bass
Geoff Hartwell – Guitar
Yonrico Scott – Drums
Also featured on the album and teaser are Todd Smallie, Bo Grady, Chuck Leavell and Steven Bernstein and Erik Lawrence of the Levon Helm Horns.