"We're on the brink of something that is going to be very big...the series is going to bring in a lot of people who don't know or only vaguely know about blues."
-- (The New York Times)

"The first guitarist I was ever aware of was Muddy Waters. I heard one of his records when I was a little boy and it scared me to death, because I heard all those sounds. Wow! What was that all about? It was great. " -- (Jimi Hendrix)

More than 20 new album packages released collaboratively in September 2003 by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) and Sony Music's Columbia/Legacy, with repertoire included from the vaults of many other labels, will accompany the monumental seven-film PBS series "The Blues," executive produced by Martin Scorsese. "The Blues" premieres Sunday, September 28 from 9-11 p.m. and airs on consecutive nights through October 4.

Proclaimed as the "Year Of The Blues" by the U.S. Congress, 2003 marks the 100th anniversary of composer W.C. Handy first hearing the blues and igniting an explosion of worldwide interest and influence that has evolved into jazz, R&B, rock 'n' roll, soul and hip-hop. "The Blues" TV series features personal and impressionistic films from seven world-famous directors--Scorsese, Charles Burnett, Clint Eastwood, Mike Figgis, Marc Levin, Richard Pearce, and Wim Wenders--who capture the essence of blues music, explore its roots and delve into its inspirational role in today's music. No definitive retrospective series about the blues would be complete without exploring the contributions made by Jimi Hendrix. As a result, in addition to the seven films prepared for PBS, Experience Hendrix and Alex Gibney, Series Producer of the Scorcese Blues series, have created Jimi Hendrix & The Blues, a short film that chronicles both Jimi's love for the rich music of such pioneers as Muddy Waters, Elmore James, and Sonny Boy Williamson as well as his own stamp on the genre. Jimi Hendrix & The Blues is set for US broadcast on October 2, 2003, immediately following the Blues series film Godfathers And Sons.

Along with the release of soundtrack albums for each of the films, the five-CD deluxe box set Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues--A Musical Journey will be issued by UMe. A definitive overview of the blues as well as a comprehensive collection of the music from the series, with more than 100 songs, the collection ranges from recordings made over 80 years ago to new recordings made specifically for "The Blues." Included are the best and most important blues recordings ever made by artists from W.C. Handy and Bessie Smith to Son House and Robert Johnson, from B.B. King and John Lee Hooker to Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues--A Musical Journey also features an introductory essay by Scorsese.

A more concise single-CD album, Martin Scorsese Presents The Best Of The Blues (click here to preview this album), released by UMe, features signature recordings by Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, Keb' Mo', Stevie Ray Vaughan and others, plus three new recordings from the series itself.

In addition, 12 individual artist "best of" compilation albums will be issued under the Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues banner. Experience Hendrix has prepared the Jimi Hendrix entry in the series, Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues: Jimi Hendrix. The album features 10 superb examples of Jimi's blues explorations. In addition to such favorites as Electric Ladyland's "Voodoo Chile, " the album boasts two previously unreleased recordings from 1969, "Georgia Blues" and "Blue Window". The album also includes an essay by Jimi's longtime girlfriend Faye Pridgon. Pridgon shared Jimi's enduring passion for blues and her essay provides compelling new insights into Jimi's quest for his favorite blues recordings as well as the joyous evenings spent exploring the deep collection of blues 45's & 78's owned by Pridgon's Georgia born mother. "The most phenomenal fact of Jimi's dedication to and respect for this underclassed art form known as Blues was that he dared to embrace this homegrown sound, denounced and orphaned by the majority of its founding people," details Pridgon in her essay. "It was as though the Universe assigned him to personally defend the almost homeless, bastard music from which he insisted all others (American, at least) were born."

Apart from "Red House", none of the album's ten tracks are repeated from the 1994 compilation Jimi Hendrix: Blues. Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues: Jimi Hendrix presents Hendrix pushing the boundaries of the genre, incorporating such elements as horns, keyboards, harmonica, and even twelve-string guitar together with his own trademark improvisational style. The album spans the course of his entire career, ranging from the sparse, solo 1970 recording of "Midnight Lightning" reminiscent of John Lee Hooker through to incendiary renditions of "Hear My Train A Comin'" and "It's Too Bad".

In addition to Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues: Jimi Hendrix, Universal and Sony will be releasing compilations by such renowned blues pioneers and blues rock artists as Muddy Waters (UMe), Eric Clapton (UMe), B.B. King (UMe), J.B. Lenoir (UMe), Jimi Hendrix (UMe), The Allman Brothers Band (UMe), Bessie Smith (Sony), Stevie Ray Vaughan (Sony), Son House (Sony), Keb' Mo' (Sony), Taj Mahal (Sony) and Robert Johnson (Sony).

Elements which are part of the "The Blues" project also include a collector's edition DVD box set of the entire series from Sony and UMe (individual DVDs will be released in 2004); a 13-part radio series hosted by Keb' Mo' on public radio stations nationwide; an educational initiative with online lesson plans and free teacher's guides; a companion book with preface by Scorsese, afterword by Chuck D, selections from previously published works and contributions from contemporary writers, and on-the-road promotions and exhibitions at film, music and heritage events nationwide.

Information is also available on the Internet through pbs.org/theblues (the official site for "The Blues") and theyearoftheblues.org.

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