Former Led Zeppelin bassist and noted producer John Paul Jones [ tickets ] is hitting the road in March and April for 18 North American club dates, touring behind his all-instrumental solo effort "Zooma."

On this second leg of the tour, Jones will be accompanied by drummer/percussionist Terl Bryant and Chapman stick player Nick Beggs. The group promises to pull off some unique arrangements of the "Zooma" material (on the Discipline Global Mobile label), which features a mix of heavy low-end grooves, a fusion slap-funk cut, and other tracks that combine the sliding sounds of lap-steel bass with Adrian Belew-type whammy-bar soloing.

Jones has some instrumental flexibility in the live setting, because he can switch to lap steel, electric mandola or keyboards while Beggs doubles on bass. Jones is also touring with a software computer program that can react to what he plays, producing either bass harmony parts or synthesized sounds.

When Jones played his first-ever solo tour last fall, he used Zeppelin material ("No Quarter" and "Trampled Underfoot," among other tunes) to stretch out his power trio in both jazzy and funky directions, critics said. Overall, the shows were considered adventurous, a la King Crimson.

After the tour, Jones is going back into the studio to record a new album, according to his publicist.