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Van Morrison announces the September 27th of ‘New Arrangements And Duets’. The album is launched alongside its first single, ‘Choppin’ Wood’.

‘New Arrangements And Duets’ represents a small percentage of the huge amount of unreleased material Van Morrison is hoping to roll out in the near future, rather than letting it gather dust in some archive.

The big band tracks were recorded in 2014. Paul Moran and Chris White individually picked the songs they wanted to do big band arrangements for. The duets, recorded across 2018 and 2019, highlight an array of leading vocalists in the shape of Kurt Elling, Curtis Stigers, Joss Stone and Willie Nelson. The Willie Nelson duets – ‘What’s Wrong With This Picture’ and ‘Steal My Heart Away’ – also showcase the guitar talents of Lukas Nelson of Promise Of The Real.

The First single ‘Choppin’ Wood’ provides a taste of what to expect, with Van Morrison’s inimitable vocal genius leading a rousing big band performance. It’s also a song that pays tribute to his late father, with its references to Belfast, the Harland & Wolff shipyard and his father’s admiration for jazz greats such as Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton. The original version of the song featured on Van Morrison’s 2002 album ‘Down The Road’.

After recently playing a sold-out show at the Royal Albert Hall, which received a four-star review from The Independent, Van Morrison’s upcoming shows are listed below. Limited tickets are available HERE.

JULY
4th – Dublin, Iveagh Gardens
7th – Gloucestershire, Westonbirt Arboretum Forest
11th – Belfast, Stormont Hotel

OCTOBER
19th – Los Angeles, Orpheus Theatre

‘New Arrangements And Duets’ track list:

‘Ain’t Gonna Moan No More’ – with Kurt Elling
‘Broken Record’ – with Kurt Elling
‘Avalon of the Heart’
‘Close Enough for Jazz’ – with Curtis Stigers
‘I’ll Be Your Lover Too’
‘Only a Dream’
‘So Quiet in Here’
‘Someone Like You’ – with Joss Stone
‘The Beauty of the Days Gone By’
‘The Master’s Eyes’
‘So Complicated’
‘Choppin’ Wood’
‘You Gotta Make It Through the World’
‘What’s Wrong With This Picture’ – with Willie Nelson
‘Steal My Heart Away’ – with Willie Nelson