The James Hunter Six

21+ / Standing Room / presented by Grey Area & Drusky Entertainment
Doors at 7pm / $17 in advance / $20 day-of-show

For his first new album in five years, 'Minute By Minute,' British soul man James Hunter teamed with Daptone mastermind Gabriel Roth (Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones) for a horn-fueled blast of deep soul and R&B. The album's 12 new original songs mark not only Hunter's first collaboration with Roth (aka Bosco Mann), but his first time recording in America. Due out Feb 26 (N. America) & March 25 (ROW) on Fantasy Records, 'Minute By Minute' follows 2008's 'The Hard Way,' which Rolling Stone called "unbelievably awesome." Check out the RollingStone.com premiere of "Minute By Minute" here: http://rol.st/11TwMmp.

Cut live in the studio by The James Hunter Six—Damian Hand on tenor saxophone, Lee Badau on baritone saxophone, Jonathan Lee on drums, Jason Wilson on double bass, and Kyle Koehler on organ—the album finds Hunter at his most swingin', unleashing the "fire in his gut" (Rolling Stone) with searing vocals and punchy guitar. Album opener "Chicken Switch" cuts an infectious groove from the outset, while "Minute By Minute" recalls the passionate charisma of Wilson Pickett, and "Heartbreak" rides a doleful shuffle somewhere between the blues and bossa nova.

Hunter, who has supported the likes of Aretha Franklin, Van Morrison, Etta James, and Willie Nelson among others, emerged as a soul powerhouse in 2006 with 'People Gonna Talk,' which hit #1 on the Billboard Blues chart, landed on year-end lists from Mojo to USA Today, and was nominated for a Grammy. His next album, 'The Hard Way,' was another Billboard Blues #1, and Paste said it "re-renders the art of musical seduction even more convincingly than Hunter's mentor Van Morrison," while the New York Times praised Hunter's "tight slithery groove" and "sweet growl."