PROLIFIC BRITISH MUSICIAN JOHN WETTON TO RELEASE NEW SOLO ALBUM JULY 12TH VIA FRONTIERS RECORDS

PROLIFIC BRITISH MUSICIAN JOHN WETTON TO RELEASE
NEW SOLO ALBUM JULY 12TH VIA FRONTIERS RECORDS;
"RAISED IN CAPTIVITY" FEATURES GUEST SPOTS BY
IMPRESSIVE ARRAY OF MUSICAL PARTNERS

(New York, NY) - Frontiers Records is proud to announce the release of the sixth solo album by esteemed British singer/songwriter John Wetton; RAISED IN CAPTIVITY is due out on July 12th in North America. The album was recorded in Los Angeles during a brief break between touring commitments and is produced and mixed by multi-instrumentalist Billy Sherwood (Yes, World Trade, Yoso). The new offering finds Wetton teaming up with current and former musical partners, including some of the biggest names from the British music scene over the past four decades: Genesis' Steve Hackett, King Crimson's Robert Fripp, Deep Purple's Steve Morse and many more. Please click here for RAISED IN CAPTIVITY cover art and here for a publicity image of John Wetton. Please see below for a full track listing and audio samples.

RAISED IN CAPTIVITY celebrates yet another milestone in an extraordinary life, a stunning collection of songs reinforcing a career of over 40 years during which John Wetton has created a legacy as one of the greatest singers, musicians and songwriters ever. Respected worldwide by fans and musical peers alike, Wetton's career included a significant period of time in the early eighties when he was the biggest selling singer in the world. Once again characterized by the emotional impact of the material, a necessary component in all Wetton's creativity, RAISED IN CAPTIVITY continues an unrivalled career which has brought inspiration to millions worldwide.

Of the new album and choice of producer, Wetton commented, "The decision to record in Los Angeles with Billy Sherwood was entirely mine. I wanted the chaotic urban inspiration, edge and energy to juxtapose the natural beauty that California provides. I also knew that Billy Sherwood would provide the musical and technical ability to record quickly, with ultra high energy and superb production quality." The material was written in a variety of ways, such as "Goodbye Elsinore" was written on the Denmark-Sweden sea ferry en route to a Vilde Frang concert and "The Devil and the Opera House" is co-written with King Crimson collaborator Richard Palmer-James. The album's finale is "Mighty Rivers", featuring the enigmatic Dutch soprano Anneke Van Giersbergen and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

John Wetton has been a member of several prominent British bands. After two albums with Family he joined King Crimson from 1972 to 1974, before working with Roxy Music and Uriah Heep. In 1977, with former Crimson band mate and drummer Bill Bruford, he co-founded U.K., which also featured guitarist Allan Holdsworth and keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson. After U.K.'s demise, Wetton turned his attentions to a solo career.

In 1982, Wetton became part of the supergroup Asia, together with Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and Geoff Downes. This "fab four" of progressive pop would rule radio and record sales, with their debut album becoming the biggest selling album of the year and yielding the worldwide hit "Heat of the Moment." Wetton remained prolific with more solo studio albums and several collaborative efforts over the years. In 2002 at a John Wetton fan convention held in Allentown, PA, he started working with Geoff Downes again. This collaboration ultimately resulted in a series of iCon studio and live albums and in the highly-anticipated reunion of Asia's original lineup, bringing about two successful new studio albums: PHOENIX in 2008 and OMEGA in 2010.

John Wetton RAISED IN CAPTIVITY track listing:

1. Lost For Words (featuring Steve Morse)
2. Raised In Captivity (featuring Robert Fripp)
3. Goodbye Elsinore (featuring Steve Hackett)
4. The Last Night Of My Life (featuring Alex Machacek)
5. We Stay Together (bonus track)
6. The Human Condition (featuring Tony Kaye)
7. Steffi's Ring (featuring Geoff Downes)
8. The Devil And The Opera House (featuring Eddie Jobson)
9. New Star Rising (featuring Mick Box)
10. Don't Misunderstand Me (featuring Tony Kaye)11. Mighty Rivers (featuring Anneke Van Giersbergen)

UK Reunites Featuring Eddie Jobson And John Wetton

32 years after their last U.S. performance together, the two progressive-rock legends and founding members of UK, Eddie Jobson and John Wetton, reunite to perform some of their classic material from UK and King Crimson. They will be joined by Austrian guitar virtuoso Alex Machacek and German drumming phenomenon Marco Minnemann.

Apr 8 – Regent Theater, Boston (Arlington)

Apr 11 – Highline Ballroom, New York

Apr 15 – Club Citta, Tokyo

Apr 16 – Club Citta, Tokyo

Apr 23 – Regency Ballroom, San Francisco

News Bytes For September

• A U.K. reunion tour in February/March 2010 is now planned with Jobson, Wetton, Marco Minnemann on drums (from UKZ) and Greg Howe (Victor Wooten, Vitalij Kuprij, Michael Jackson) on guitar.
• Opeth front man Mikael Åkerfeldt is planning to record a singer/songwriter styled solo album according to the Finnish rock mag Sound. He says that discovering Nick Drake has really expanded his musical world view and made him understand the power of such acoustic simplicity. He says he could well make it an Opeth album but this time he wants to do everything by himself and record the songs at home. There is no set date of release. (PA)
• On September 1, 2009, Livgren suffered a stroke early in the day. His condition was reported as "serious, but stable. By September 4, family members called his condition positive and said his progress in recovering was encouraging. Livgren underwent surgery and received two stents in his carotid arteries. The area of his brain in which the stroke-causing clot formed deals with language and other high-end skills. Livgren's family says his face did not have the "sagging" often found in stroke victims, he recognized family members, and would squeeze their hands in recognition. The family established the Kansas band website as the only authorized source for information on Livgren's recovery.

EDDIE JOBSON'S 'ULTIMATE ZERO TOUR' Brings Prog-Rock Violin/Keyboard Legend Out of 27-Year Retirement with Virtuoso Supergroup

PROG-ROCK KEYBOARD/VIOLIN LEGEND RETURNS FROM 27-YEAR RETIREMENT TO INTRODUCE VIRTUOSO SUPERGROUP OF WORLD-RENOWNED PLAYERS ON FIRST EVER ‘SOLO’ TOUR
Brief Series of Exclusive East Coast and Midwest Summer Dates Kicks Off Aug. 17 in Washington “The word ‘genius’ is bandied about a bit too freely these days, but in Jobson’s case, the term not only applies, it’s been used to describe him since his northern England childhood.” – EMMY Magazine
Watch the new video for UKZ’s RADIATION here: http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=755603&msgid=382137&act=MPJ9&c=125369&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DYFlnG3AKOW8

Progressive-rock keyboard and electric violin legend EDDIE JOBSON (U.K., Roxy Music, Frank Zappa, Jethro Tull) will perform his first ever “solo” concerts in August with one of the most impressive 'player' lineups to ever grace the concert stage.

EDDIE JOBSON’S U-Z PROJECT will be performing a brief series of exclusive East Coast and Midwest summer dates on the “Ultimate Zero Tour”: Washington DC (August 17 - Jammin' Java); New York (August 18 - B.B. Kings); Boston (August 19 - Regent Theatre); Philadelphia (August 20 - North Star); Cleveland (August 21 - Beachland Ballroom); and Chicago (August 22 - Martyrs').

A live concert appearance by iconic musician Eddie Jobson is a rare event. As keyboardist, electric violinist, co-founder, producer, and principal writer of 'UK' [a group he formed with drummer Bill Bruford (Yes, Genesis, King Crimson), singer/bassist John Wetton (King Crimson, Asia), and then-unknown guitar phenom Allan Holdsworth], Jobson's studio and live concert performances were described as "stunning" and "dazzling.' The Boston Globe has called him "a music pioneer," Emmy magazine called him "a genius."

Eddie was previously well known as the teenage 'rock prodigy' with the early Roxy Music, and as Frank Zappa's right-hand-man on both keyboards and electric violin - replacing both Jean Luc Ponty and George Duke at the age of 21. After appearing on some 60 albums with many of the rock/fusion genre's top musicians, Mr. Jobson retired from both studio and live performance for more than 20 years until a recent unannounced appearance in Russia with King Crimson.

Now, Eddie has formed two new projects based on his original 'UK' concept: 'UKZ' - a five-piece contemporary rock band, currently receiving rave reviews for their "Radiation" EP and recent concert tour of Japan; and the newly-announced 'U-Z Project' - an instrumental band of extraordinary virtuosos from around the world, including Michael Jackson's former guitarist Greg Howe; stick player Michael Bernier (Stick Men); and TWO world renowned drummers, German drumming sensation Marco Minnemann (UKZ), and British drum legend Simon Phillips (Peter Gabriel, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Toto).

Critics raved after witnessing UKZ’s “One City World Tour” debut concert in New York last January. Calling it “an auspicious beginning indeed, Daily Variety said “Jobson's crew proved to be well stocked in both the brawn and brain departments.” JazzTimes marveled at how this “chops-heavy” band “delivered the goods” with “blistering licks and well-orchestrated bombast.” Added TimeOut New York: “UKZ fuses technical flamboyance with the postindustrial crunch of Nine Inch Nails and Tool.”

Given Jobson's international reputation as a musicians' musician, and the high caliber of his previous associations and collaborations (a list that includes Frank Zappa, Ian Anderson, Robert Fripp, Phil Collins, John Entwistle, Tony Levin, Bill Bruford, Terry Bozzio, Steve Hackett, Trey Gunn, Jon Anderson, Allan Holdsworth, Adrian Belew, and many others) it is not surprising that the upcoming U.S. tour would include such an impressive lineup of players.

Spotlighting Jobson's trademark Plexiglas electric violins, the 'U-Z Project' will perform rarely played music from 'UK' and other material culled from the best of the genres Jobson has helped create. More at http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=755603&msgid=382137&act=MPJ9&c=125369&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ukzband.com and http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=755603&msgid=382137&act=MPJ9&c=125369&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eddiejobson.com.

UKZ "One City World Tour" concert announced

UKZ "One City World Tour" concert announced
Keyboard and electric-violin legend Eddie Jobson ( UK, Roxy Music,
Zappa) announces the new UKZ's debut concert for January 24, 2009 at 8 p.m. at Town Hall in New York City. The "One City World Tour" will also feature the U.S. debut of special guests Stick Men, featuring King Crimson's Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto. The ticket on-sale date will be announced soon.
The concert will follow the January 6 pre-release of UKZ band's debut EP entitled Radiation, which is slated for full retail release nationally on March 3.
Returning from a self-imposed 27-year retirement from band and touring activity, Jobson set out to find the same caliber of next-generation musicians for the new UKZ project that would equal or surpass the talents of his previous colleagues and collaborators--an impressive list that includes Frank Zappa, Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, Phil Collins, John Entwistle, Ian Anderson, Simon Phillips, Terry Bozzio, Allan Holdsworth, and Tony Levin.
Jobson -- who was born and raised in the Durham area of England -- has hand-selected a truly international dream-band of virtuosos from around the world:
Aaron Lippert -- a citizen of Belgium, but born and raised in New York
-- the former lead singer and songwriter for Columbia recording artists Expanding Man.
Trey Gunn -- a Texas native, currently residing in Seattle - a ten-year veteran of King Crimson and the leading exponent of the Warr 10-string touch guitar.
Alex Machacek -- from Vienna, Austria -- an award-winning guitar prodigy and composer.
Marco Minnemann -- from Hannover, Germany -- a drumming phenomenon of unparalleled virtuosity.
Opening for the supergroup will be Stick Men, which features Chapman stick players Tony Levin and Michael Bernier, with Pat Mastelotto on drums.
For more information, visit the UKZ web site http://www.ukzband.com.